Dark Legacy IV
by ShadowpwnLord79
Summary: The war against Dr. Eggman is underway, but Mephiles plans to make his move, and the greatest battle of time is at hand... Soon, a great darkness shall cover the world, and evils barely imaginable will come into play And Shadow's destiny has only begun.
1. Foreword Prologue

_**DARKNESS AND**__** LIGHT**_

_**FOREWORD: **_Hey everybody, this is the author here, just to say a few words: thank you for reading my stories thus far; it is nice to know some people who read my works are patriotic, so to speak.

There's a few people I'd like to thank;

First, my girlfriend Shannan, for getting me where I am, helping me write this, and supporting me throughout. I love you, baby!

Secondly, SEGA, for putting these awesome games on the shelf that inspired the story. Rock on!

Last, but not least, to Shadow the Hedgehog, for being so awesome and converting me to nerdism, so to speak. Heh... yeah, w/e. Okay, but seriously, if not for him, I probably wouldn't be into Sonic the Hedgehog at all. So thanks buddy!

Anyway, for those of you who _aren't _familiar with the story (but you should probably be starting on _Ultimate Darkness _instead of reading this), here's what's happened thus far:

Shadow and Rouge were sent on a simple mission, and soon, they fell in love with each other. But, their love was hampered when Mephiles the Dark returned, and sought deadly revenge on the duo.

Alongside Mephiles was Shade, Shade the Echidna, who had all the same powers and abilities as Shadow. Shade had been manipulated by Mephiles to hate humanity, and those who were allied with them. Thus, Shade the Echidna and Shadow the Hedgehog became rivals.

Sadly, Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, and Amy were all forced out by Mephiles' forces, which consisted of Eggman's, the Metarex, and the remaining Black Arms' united forces. But, Tails discovered the hidden location of Mephiles' fortress, and they planned an attack.

But Mephiles had gathered most of the Chaos Emeralds, in addition to the almighty Master Emerald. He planned to use their energy to bring Iblis, the Flames of Disaster, back from another dimmension (since Iblis was dead in the dimmension Mephiles was in) and unite at last.

Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles all mounted an assault on Mephiles' fortress, fighting unimaginable horrors and countless obstacles. But, they finally reached Mephiles' throne room.

But before the fight could get serious, Dr. Eggman arrived in his deadliest creation yet; the Egg Titan. The traitorous doctor planned to use it to replace Mephiles as monarch of the united empires. Mephiles and Shadow's team had to cooperate to defeat the powerful mech, and the real fight continued.

After Shadow _finally _defeated Shade the Echidna, his victory was short-lived: Mephiles had summoned Iblis back, and reunited. Shadow quickly used the Chaos Emeralds to become Super Shadow, and the two fought in the skies above the mountains.

Finally, Mephiles was destroyed, and Shadow and Rouge went home, and enjoyed their love in peace.

Almost a year, later, however, in _Love Amongst War, _Shade the Echidna returned, and began hiring street muscle to help rebuild Mephiles' empire. Sonic and Amy (who are finally dating) discover Shade and some of his thugs. Shadow and Rouge are later sent to intercept them, but a new player enters the mix:

Mauve the Bat, a deadly mercenary that Shade hired. Mauve had the skill (and weapons) to fight off both Shadow _and _Rouge on his own, and bought time for Shade's muscle to get some supplies they needed.

Shortly after the battle, however, Shadow and Rouge meet a large, muscular Mobian-Wolf met with them. This wolf was named Kaynyx, and he had helped G.U.N. drive off some of Shade's men.

Shadow and Kaynyx spoke, and it turned out that Kaynyx knew Maria, and that the wolf had been one of Gerald's experiments. Kaynyx wasn't _created_ by Gerald, but after the horrors of the Bio-Lizard, Gerald decided to try the augmentations on a smaller being. Thus, he made Kaynyx stronger, and the wolf was also semi-immortal, like Shadow.

Then, Kaynyx told Shadow a terrible truth; Mephiles the Dark had been the one who _really _convinced the human military to attack the ARK fifty years ago. Kaynyx also told Shadow that Mephiles had healed Maria, and questioned her of Shadow's whereabouts. When she didn't answer, Mephiles drove a blade through her heart, despite Kaynyx's attempts to stop him.

Thus, Kaynyx revealed the final puzzle in Shadow's past.

Having found someone (besides Rouge) whom Shadow could confide in, Shadow told Kaynyx (who he saw as a brother) that he intended to marry Rouge. Kaynyx encouraged him, of course, but it mattered little...

That very day, right as Shadow was about to propose to Rouge, Mauve the Bat returned, and kidnapped Rouge, stealing her away to Shade's hideout. Shadow quickly pursued them, and Kaynyx, Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles followed soon after him (the Master Emerald was stolen by Mauve earlier on).

Rouge had managed to escape Mauve, however, and joined Shadow shortly after he broke into the fortress. Then, they battled Shade, Mauve, and their soldiers. Then, Kaynyx, Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and a G.U.N. force arrived and helped to destroy Shade's base, but Shade and Mauve escaped when Shade used Chaos Control.

Later, on Rouge's birthday, Shadow proposed to her with a beautiful ring. Crying, Rouge agreed, and their love was sealed.

But, evil is not vanquished... with the help of a distant relative of Eggman named Dr. Ovator, Shade has constructed a massive, flying battleship called the Aero Fortress, which was capable of wiping out the entire G.U.N. airfleet.

Then, in _Return of Mephiles, _the title speaks for itself; Shade heals Mephiles' remains, and the dark being arises anew. Dr. Ovator has been working on deadly recreations of the Gizoids called Havocs, which will make Mephiles' conquest easier.

Shadow and Rouge, meanwhile, had just gotten married. During their honeymoon, Kaynyx arrived and gave Shadow a long, golden-bladed dagger with a jeweled hilt, said to be an ancient artifact.

But while the newlyweds were on their honeymoon, G.U.N. Headquarters was attacked. Shadow and Rouge rushed to the rescue, and were horrified to see Mephiles leading the attack. Despite their efforts, G.U.N. Headquarters suffered heavy casualties, and Mauve the Bat extracted data from G.U.N. that was vital to Mephiles' next plan to reunite with Iblis.

Later, Kaynyx, Sonic, Knuckles, and the Chaotix were sent on an investigation to find the Aero Fortress. Oddly, however, Shadow joined them from out of nowhere. It seemed too convenient, considering the injuries Shadow had sustained after their latest battle, but they continued on anyway.

Suddenly, the caught a glimpse of the Aero Fortress, and recorded its coordinates. They were about to head back, when they encountered somebody...

Tikal the Echidna, who was wounded.

It was then that Kaynyx discovered that "Shadow" was really an android assasin that Mephiles had sent, and he destroyed the machine, and took Tikal to safety.

After everyone had recovered, Knuckles and Tikal spent some time together, and began a loving relationship, as their hearts had grown fonder of each other with Tikal's absence.

Meanwhile, the Commander reveals Mephiles' true nature to Shadow and Rouge: Mephiles is the essence of Satan himself, left behind on Earth after Satan's descent to hell.

Thus motivated and convinced of Mephiles' evil, Shadow, Rouge, E-123 Omega, Kaynyx, Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles launch an infiltration-attack on the Aero Fortress.

During the course of the battle, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega are attacked by Shade the Echidna, Mauve the Bat, and one of the Havoc robots Dr. Ovator built. Finally, however, the group reunites after they each complete their tasks, and Mauve, the Havoc, and Mephiles' other guards are defeated, and the Aero Fortress has become a ticking time-bomb.

Strangely, however, Shade stood down, and allowed Shadow and everyone else to escape; Shade the Echidna had found himself caught between his personal loyalty, and his duty to Mephiles recently. Shade knew that if he held Shadow and the others, he would've doomed them to a dishonorable death. So, he let them go...

But Shadow and his team were still intercepted by Mephiles and all of the remaining Havoc mechs.

The battle was long, and arduous, and Mephiles was nearly invincible with rage. He would've won, had Kaynyx not sacrificed his life to give Shadow and the others the chance they needed to escape.

After the Aero Fortress's destruction, Shade and Dr. Ovator picked up two wounded survivors; Mauve the Bat, and Mephiles the Dark. They retreated to their final base, but Mephiles was only setback a little; his plans for reuniting with Iblis had only been delayed.

Shadow and Rouge learned shortly afterwards that Dr. Eggman had returned with a mighty armada, and that he had re-declared war on G.U.N. in what was to be the biggest war between them of all time.

But alas, love and friendship live on; Sonic proposed a wedding to Amy Rose, who was all too happy to accept.

Now, the story will come to a close; with DARKNESS AND LIGHT! WHOO!

**Prologue: The Ancient People**

Long ago, only a few thousand years since any life had walked upon the earth, there walked another race, that, ironically to their time period, was much more advanced than humanity is in the current day. There were apparently three civilizations before them, but little to no records of those are mentioned. Nobody even knows the Fourth Great Civilization's origin, their name, or even their races, for there was little interest in them save for the relics they left behind...

Including the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald, and the Gizoids, and some scattered ruins around ancient islands... but does anybody know who, or what they were? Not until recently, a little over two years ago, when the Nocturnus arrived, bringing legions of Echidna assassins called Marauders. These were the remnants of the Fourth Great Civilization, which led hundreds of the omnipotent Gizoids to war and conquest. This civilization was led by their emperor, Ix, and they were unstoppable. They defeated their rivals, the Pachacmac clan, and the echidnas flourished. But, then they were sealed into the Twilight Cage for their crimes of greed and conquest, along with their surviving rivals, who were the Zoah, the Nrrgahl, and the Voxai. Knuckles the Echidna, the last descendent of the Pachacmac clan and the last echidna, was charged with guarding the Master Emerald on Earth, a relic that had existed before even Lord Ix's reign.

But... how were the Chaos Emeralds created? Who created the steps for the _Fourth _Great Civilization?

This is the story of the Civilization that preceded the Fourth Great Civilization. They, who both created the path for their descendents, and set the path for their destruction with the first Gizoid. The story of the _Third _Great Civilization. This civilization might have prospered, and Ix's violence avoided... had not darkness shrouded the light, so to speak.

* * *

*10,000 Years ago, Angel Island*

Sacreidar (sA-cray-DAR) looked down from a hill upon his village, and it was thriving with prosperity and business, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked upon it.

Every building was made of special, sturdy stone almost as unbreakable and unyielding as steel. Dozens of cheerful people scuttled about their day, laughing and patting their friends on the backs. And every now and then, Sacreidar could see a priest and a group of friars transporting a small cart of the blessed, if numerous, Chaos Emeralds to the nearest church to their almighty god and giver of power and prosperity, Chaos. There, the Emeralds were distributed fairly and evenly to those who needed them to power their homes.

Sacreidar was flanked by two guards in golden armor, and imbedded in their plate-chests were smaller Chaos Gems, which provided their armor with a light energy-shielding of sorts, and it also enhanced their mobility and strength, making them deadly warriors. The early warrior race of Zoahs had helped manufacture this armor. These were his royal guard; every village leader of their civilization was entitled to four each, even though leader assassinations were down to a great minimum (the minimum-required number of royal guards had dropped since). Every village had a militia as well, but the members only had some very basic combat tests to take, and then prove their loyalty and thanks to Chaos by being sent out on a short quest that somehow tested their bravery and intuition (so as to be able to tell if Chaos was pleased or angered with them). But those militias had dwindled down to merely four or five dozen a village.

Every village in this civilization consisted of many beings; the Zoah, the early Voxai (who were developing mental powers that already astounded many), and even the Nrrgahl, although they kept to themselves. The Zoah had a more plentiful military than most, because whenever violence was wrought, they were usually the target. They often blamed the Nrrgahl for their numerous plights, and had just enough evidence to convict them of a few of them. But even they leaved on mostly-peaceful terms with others, and they had achieved perfection as far as economics and prosperity.

Still, the lack of soldiers and militias worried Sacreidar, but he didn't know why. The demons that had appeared almost one hundred years ago had proved to them and the whole civilization that a means of defense was necessary... but now it seemed they were forgetting it all over again. Everybody believed Chaos guarded them, but he was a rather unpredictable god; sometimes he would destroy islands for no other reason than to please himself. But Chaos had blessed them with the power of his essence; hence their powerful weapons and energy sources. And Chaos had also created the Chao; a small, innocent race that assisted Sacreidar's people, and served as loyal, loveable companions.

It was hard to believe that the god of destruction could create something so cute and innocent.

There were others gods they knew of and worshipped as well, such as Solaris the Sun God, who was said to be Chaos's brother. But the gifts and technology Chaos had blessed them with had turned them from a primitive, ignorant race into the planet's dominant, highly-intelligent, peaceful race. They thanked Solaris for the sun and sustaining life, but they thanked Chaos for everything else.

Breaking away from his thoughts, Sacreidar sighed. He turned to his guards, and said; "Go ahead and head back to my estate... I'll be there shortly."

The guards nodded obediently, bowed slightly, and turned to leave.

Sacreidar cast another look upon his village, and sank into deep thought again.

"They're all so happy... such harmony is upon us, and we have never prospered more..." he whispered to himself. "Then why do I feel such wrath upon us?"

Finally, the village leader turned to return to his home.

* * *

*Meanwhile, halfway across the village*

There stood a hedgehog with a white tint to his fur. He watched as others of his kind, along with citizens who were slightly-humanoid, and the majority of echidnas go about their business. This hedgehog was named Scyth, and while he had a dark, moody nature, he was revered above all others. For when the demons had descended upon the world, almost a hundred years ago, Scyth had been there, merely in his teenager years, and had proved that he had been gifted by Chaos when he fired Chaos Energy out of his hands and drove back the dark creatures. And using a dagger that Scyth himself had forged, he had summoned Chaos Energy through the hilt, and the golden blade had suddenly shimmered in power, and a blade of bright red and amber flame burst out, and then solidified into a blade made entirely of Chaos Energy, which Scyth used to cut through the demons like a hot knife through butter. But unused and with no provoked Chaos Energy searing through it, the dagger simply looked like an elegant relic with its jeweled, silver hilt in its elegant, expensive leather sheath, made almost entirely out of carved Emeralds.

Scyth glanced around him, nodding at a female fox who waved kindly at him. Scyth absentmindedly scratched the patch of white fur on his chest, which he noticed many females staring at for long periods of time.

Then, Scyth noticed Sacreidar walking with a somber expression back towards his elegant house. Scyth approached him, and Sacreidar only noticed the elderly hero when he was almost two feet away from him. Smiling, Scyth saluted the village leader, for someone of his status was considered above bowing to anybody, save Chaos and the other gods, but he still showed respect to the village leader.

"Ah Scyth, my friend..." Sacreidar said formally. "Come and speak with me, if you will; something troubles my mind..."

"Certainly, sir" Scyth said respectfully, and they walked onward.

Sacreidar looked around at the village, his hands still clasped behind his back. He glanced at the multiple different races that made up the whole civilization, those his, (the somewhat humanoid one), made up the majority, and was considered closest to Chaos as they were the first to learn how to harness Chaos Energy...

Well, Scyth was a different story, obviously, but still...

"My friend, I think we're taking security too lightly" Sacreidar said to Scyth. "Barely four guards now watch my flank, and while the militia is being given hardening, adequate training, their numbers would barely be enough to fight off a pack of bandits! What if another attack were to happen, such as the demons you fought off so long ago? We'd barely hold out ten seconds... and yes, Chaos Gems are being imbedded into our spears, lances, swords and arrows, which was a powerful weapon against them, but still; their numbers would wash over us like an evil flood!"

Scyth was silent as he contemplated this, and sighed lightly. "Yes, my friend... but I doubt such an event will destroy us" he said. "Last time, we didn't have any soldiers, and almost as few even knew of combat! And even if something does happen, I will still be able to fight... don't ask me to explain, but I feel as young in body as I did those nearly a century ago... though my mind tires a little more quickly, if you take my meaning."

"Yes, my friend, I myself am no spring chicken either" Sacreidar said to him. "However, I do not want to make us self-reliant on you and a few dozen others... I think we should have another guardian of great power as well... perhaps one for every village?"

Scyth was silent, and slowly nodded. "That would be sufficient..." he said slowly, "But as far as I know, there are no others born with the power of Chaos running hot in their veins-"

"Ah, but we can create armor that enhances the body, can we not?" Sacreidar said, now smiling as the idea hatched in his head. "If we could merely create the inside of an artificial intelligence with the purest source of Chaos Energy, we might have an artificial version of you, my friend!"

Scyth was now smiling too, but it quickly vanished. The idea was almost unimaginable; creating an artificial life form that thrived purely on Chaos Energy to serve as multiple guardians for the whole civilization to head the militias alongside him? Preposterous... yet if they pulled it off, it would be much more than worth it.

"Very well, sir, I think your idea glows with merit" Scyth said with a nod. "But it will be difficult... light, heat, cold, air, and even time we can harness with the Emeralds and Gems. We can plow dirt, sustain our crops, strengthen our soldiers, our weapons as well, we can create flying houses of stone... but life, sir? Can we create life with the god of destruction's blessings?"

Sacreidar fell silent too, and sighed. His smile was gone now, replaced with a tired, sad frown. Then he slowly faced Scyth, and said; "I do not know, my friend... the trade off would be worth it, and the power might be as tamable as the Gem that lighted my room at night when I feared the dark. But if it were to go out of control... I pray to Chaos that he will spare me from witnessing his wrath."

And Sacreidar wouldn't live to bear witness... nobody in the ancient civilization would. The time for when this weapon of protection became uncontrollable would not be witnessed for another few thousand years.

* * *

*500 years later...*

By this time, Scyth still lived fit, able and strong, though his mind was now beginning to feel the weariness Sacreidar had felt in his final ten or so years of life. Scyth wasn't senile, but he rested and napped though his body never ached.

Sacreidar had, ever since he had spoken to Scyth about it, taken the head of research for this "Ultimate Weapon of Protection", that would be used to bring hope to all beings even in the darkest of times. Day and night in their village, the priests and monks had prayed to Chaos for an early/extra blessing of Emeralds and Gems to study, and two nights later, the gentle, slowly-falling indigo star descended upon the same holy site they always did (which would later become the pedestal for the Master Emerald). Now having three dozen extra Emeralds and almost and hundred Gems to study, the priests, Sacreidar, Scyth, and others who were knowledgeable of Chaos Energy set to work. Years and years they labored, and for those who died, another took his or her place, equally as knowledgeable as their predecessor. Many Emeralds and Gems that had been damaged or carved to the point where they were useless had to be replaced. At first this was a concern as the village began to run low, but after many prayers, Chaos blessed them with a giant, green Emerald known simply as the Master Emerald which they placed upon the Chaos Emerald Holy Site, and used it to power the entire village.

Finally, after another sixty years of study, and all but eight Emeralds and forty Gems now expended by study, Sacreidar had died of old age. And only now, centuries later, had they learned how to build metal "wires" and "circuits" to help harness the Chaos Energy. The power core, the intelligence, the power generators and accelerators and the subroutines were all built entirely out of Emeralds and Gems, the only metal on the shell of this guardian being gold, copper, a little silver, and regular, almost worthless (compared to the civilization's higher values in life) sapphire for the "eyes". Finally, the mechanized being was built and ready...

It was a sight like none had even seen before...

The artificial life form looked at its creators, and nodded, slowly. Scyth smiled at it, and slowly approached the small, mechanical unit.

"Greetings, friend..." Scyth said slowly, and the being's blue eyes met Scyth's gray ones. "How are you feeling?"

"I... hello... I'm feeling alright..." the being said slowly, a metallic tone to its voice, but only lightly. The voice sounded somewhat naïve, but also strong and warm despite its cold, hard metal that made up its body, and the powerful crystals that made up its organs.

Scyth smiled. "I am Scyth the Hedgehog... your name is..." Scyth thought carefully for a moment, then; "Gizoid. Your name is Gizoid... understand?"

"Yeah... I think I do..." Gizoid said, and its voice seemed to calm and grow a little stronger as if assured. "Yeah! How are you all doing?"

Scyth chuckled, and then began to explain to the Gizoid why he was made, where he was, and what he had to do...

* * *

***

But meanwhile, far above, there sat a mighty, immortal being of unshakable power and wrath that glared down upon the people who made this... _monstrosity!_ A mechanical unit, using _his _blessings?! Blasphemous, at best... creating a weapon against him, perhaps? Or...

The being slowly calmed down at this new thought; were they simply making a means to defend themselves? And if so, from what? The guardians his advisor had sent down to test their strength had been beaten back by the hedgehog... what did it matter now?

"You never did give your disciples much credit, exalted one" a voice spoke from the darkness.

The blue being's bright indigo head snapped up, and his green eyes flared in anger.

"What is it now, Mephiles?!" he demanded in a roar that shook the foundations of energy that made his throne.

"Please, please, good lord... I don't mean to intrude..." spoke the calm, silky voice of his advisor. And out of the shadows he loved so much, Mephiles the Dark in his mocking, evil shape, strode towards the god of destruction.

The dark, believed to be semi-demon creature appeared as a bipedal, somewhat humanoid creature, but his features were obscured by dark ooze that covered his body like velvet, occasionally glowing purple. Only two bright, wicked green eyes made themselves clear upon his face.

"Obviously, you do not fear what they may plot" Mephiles said somberly, and sighed. "They may seem insignificant, but because of your blessings, they have prospered..."

"As I intended, you ass!" Chaos roared at Mephiles. "They worshipped me, I helped shape the world, as the Emeralds and Gems of power I bestow them are my blessings! Never have they wished to rise against me or any of the others!"

"But you are the god of destruction, my liege" Mephiles continued. "Surely anybody, even the other gods, would have need to fear you. Certainly, you keep them in line, but out of fear comes anger, and out of anger comes rebellion..."

"What is your point?" Chaos snapped irritably, but he listened closely with interest.

"If they can harm the demons that I conjured, they can harm _you_, my liege, using your very essence!" Mephiles said. "And this weapon they have created just might be what they need to do so, with their little hero, Scyth! They have already learned much of harnessing your powers for battle... you must crush them before they create more of these 'Gizoids'!"

Chaos considered this carefully... if he destroyed the people... if he wiped out the civilization... then all his problems would be over. He could create another one, less free-minded and rebellious... a shame, really, but he wasn't about to be beaten by a bunch of mortals...

"Very well, Mephiles... bring me my sword!" Chaos commanded.

Mephiles bowed lowly, and later returned with a short but exquisite sword...

The hilt was golden, with delicate bits of jet carved in as well. The very first, more powerful red Chaos Emeralds that Chaos had ever forged were embedded into the hilt. And the first gems he'd created, ones that nobody had ever lain eyes on but he and Mephiles, ran up in a straight line along the blade.

This weapon had many names; the Havoc Blade, Serenity's Bane...

But all who fell at its power had come to fear (in whatever afterlife they now knew) the Sword of Chaos.

Mephiles held the weapon upon his hands, admiring its work... feeling its power course through him even as he held it...

"Mephiles? My sword?" Chaos asked impatiently.

"Yes... my liege" Mephiles replied, bowing and reluctantly extending the hilt to the god who made it. "My well-wishes go with you on your mission."

"I doubt I'll need them" Chaos snorted, and using a burst of time-bending energy from the sword, opened a portal to the mortal realm. "I shall be back soon, Mephiles." And the god vanished through the portal.

Mephiles chuckled to himself. "No, my liege..." he whispered mockingly. "You _won't _be back! I have sent you into the realm of the mortals, the only plain of existence in which you can be defeated on! Should the Gizoid fail, Scyth can finish the job of destroying you, and likely kill one of them in the process! One day, that blade shall be mine... one day, I shall become the _new_ Solaris, and the _new _god of destruction! My power grows, and I feel Iblis is near... one day, I shall reunite with him, and all of time shall shatter at my hands!"

* * *

*Back in the village with Scyth and the Gizoid, two days after creation*

Scyth and his new companion now walked the village together, receiving many cheers all around. The militia surrounded them as well, each one of them grinning; here was an army to be reckoned with, and it only consisted of 52 men. And as soon as the parade was finished, the Gizoid would be replicated in the same delicate fashion, only at a much faster pace now that they knew what it required, to be evenly distributed in single units to all the villages around the world. The Gizoids were being planned, and their bodies built. It would take months, but they would be rebuilt.

But then, little to anyone's knowledge, a semi-apocalypse was about to occur...

The skies suddenly darkened, and the very air itself throbbed violently with energy, and cracks suddenly ran down the stone buildings and the ground, causing a panic throughout the village. Reflexively, Scyth drew his dagger, but didn't summon energy to it yet to form it into the legendary sword (known as Dark Burner). The Gizoid suddenly glowed with energy as well, and stood back-to-back with the legendary hero.

And then, a great, blue light shined high in the sky, and the entire village was held in awe...

They couldn't pierce the divine light that surrounded him, but they could all suddenly feel the wrath of the god Chaos upon them.

The priests all bowed low, followed by the monks and commoners, and even Scyth knelt to his knee (the Gizoid following his example).

"MORTAL FOOLS!!!" Chaos boomed throughout the world so that all heard him, but none were deafened. "YOUR ARROGANCE ENDS THIS DAY!!! PUNY INHABITANTS, WHY I BLESSED SUCH UNLOYAL HERETICS, I'LL NEVER KNOW!! BUT YOU DIE THIS DAY!!! YOUR WHOLE WORLD DIES!!!!"

Suddenly, everybody began to scream in panic, and the priests and some of the monks stood in a horrified stupor, feeling that they had failed in all things by angering their most blessed god like this. Some other monks, though, had doubted even worshipping a god of destruction, and cursed loudly, sweating and not sure what to do.

Scyth, on the other hand, did.

"Unhappy being!!" he shouted at the blue light. "This is how you would repay their worship, their toil in your honor, and all the thanks they give you for life?! And you call yourself divine, you bastard!!!!"

Though many gasped at this supposed heresy, they couldn't help but feel Scyth had a point... and a few even glared up at Chaos.

"SILENCE!!!" Chaos bellowed. "COWER IN FEAR AS I PONDER HOW BEST TO SMITE YOU ALL!!!"

Everybody, even the priests, now looked at Scyth in questioning and fear, now clueless as to what to do. Scyth sighed, and then walked back to them.

"What can I do?!" he hissed at them. "Even if I was sure I could harm him with my dagger, its not like I can fly! And as soon as he batted me aside, I'd be done for!"

"Not necessarily..." a priest said quietly, and approached the dull-white hedgehog. "Scyth, hero of all people, there is yet hope! Take these Emeralds... absorb their power into you, and use it to fight off Chaos! Save us from the doom of one who has betrayed our faith!"

Scyth now took a green, red, blue, light-blue, purple, yellow, and white Chaos Emerald from the priest, and their energy made them float around him. The Gizoid, on the other hand, was already activating his own powers and energy and suddenly glowed with a golden aura. Then, the Emeralds all zapped their energy into Scyth, and his very fur glowed a bright golden color, and the dagger he held burst forth in flame as had not been seen in nearly 600 years. Then, the two flew off with incredible power to fight off Chaos...

The battle was not easy; the Sword of Chaos and Dark Burner clashed violently, and even with the Gizoid's pure Chaos-Energy body, and Scyth's body induced with Chaos Energy, and the Emeralds that increased his stamina, damage, and other capabilities, the battle against a god was none too easy.

Finally, Scyth stabbed Dark Burner into Chaos's head, and the immortal being cried out a cry that split the continents into smaller ones, spreading little islands out. Then Scyth's golden energy drained, and he fell from the sky, dead of exhaustion, and plunged into the ocean.

The Gizoid, meanwhile, knew that Chaos was not finished, but managed to send a burst of energy that sealed Chaos back into the heavens.

But the Sword the god had created fell to the ground... where it stabbed itself deep into what was once a militia soldier, dead by a collapsing stone house.

Many of the human-like beings had been killed in this village, and many others from all over the world came to study the site where the battle had occurred...

All of the hedgehogs, a few echidnas, and other creatures had been, when Scyth died, blasted away in a space-time energy surge that had torn a fabric in time. Nobody knew where they were, if they were alive, or even if their souls were intact.

The people that were left, however (most of them were echidnas) used stones from the few dozen shattered houses to build a guardian temple around the Sword of Chaos, and created countless puzzles, traps, hidden walls, and prayers to the other gods to keep it sealed from other evil hands. Then, all the people that were left came here in council, trying to decide what to do. But, at least with their combined militias making over 2,900 soldiers along with the Gizoid, and the weapon which their god had tried to use against them sealed away, they felt safe.

But then, one day, a day that nobody has been able to hypothesize, occurred.

Mephiles the Dark descended from the heavens several days later, all his plans going accordingly. One day, as the Gizoid patrolled the expanded village where all the survivors of the Fourth Great Civilization resided, he approached the mech, holding a jet-black Chaos Emerald. One he had created himself, having stolen a jet Gem from Chaos's throne.

Mephiles stuck the Emerald into the Gizoid, and it had lost control, the power overflowing and destabilizing its systems. And this instability would cost others again in the future...

Hence, the Gizoid went on a mindless rampage, destroying all in sight. The militia, in desperation, gathered and attacked, but the Gizoid issued explosive energy and projectiles, killing them all.

And then, realizing they were doomed, seven priests each took one of the seven Chaos Emeralds Scyth had used, and fled across the world, hiding them safely from evil doers... or so they prayed to whoever might be listening at that point.

When they returned, the entire civilization had been wiped out, and two of the priests had died from exhaustion. The Gizoid had, however, become damaged and lost in the sea, unknown to anyone.

The priests, in their final days, prayed nonstop for the gods to bless the world with life, to let it thrive, and to give them peace as they died.

And, in their last day, they saw two clans of echidnas being created by the gods; one clan called the Nocturnus clan, and the other clan was the Pachacmac clan.

Thus ended the Third Great Civilization...

Soon after, the first Gizoid's body would be found, and repaired by the Fourth Great Civilization, though it would always be unstable, as they weren't familiar with its construction. Five thousand, five hundred and fifty years later, the Gizoid would be uncovered and studied by Professor Gerald Robotnik, who would use some of his research on it to assist the alien overlord Black Doom in creating the Ultimate Life Form, starting with Kaynyx the wolf and later, Shadow the Hedgehog, and ending with Shade the Echidna. And fifty years later, after Gerald's research facility would be seized by the government, the Gizoid would be found by Sonic the Hedgehog, who formed a "Link" with the Gizoid, much as Scyth had upon constructing it. Its insides and power core made of Emeralds and Gems would be badly damaged, but the power of the Chaos Emeralds planted within it would restore it to power. A great quarrel would break out over the Gizoid, and just as Mephiles foresaw, the Gizoid became unstable and had to be destroyed, ridding the dark being of a potentially dangerous foe. The Nocturnus clan would then break out of the Twilight Cage they had been sealed in by the gods to wreak havoc upon Earth. Sonic and his allies would respond in kind, and wage a war against the remnants of Emperor Ix's army. They would learn that Emerl, the Gizoid Scyth had created, had been the finest of the Fourth Great Civilization's Gizoids. Little did they know, however, that Ix's Gizoids were based upon the schematics the Third Great Civilization left behind. Ix would try to recapture this technological miracle, and though the Gizoids he created were strong, some of them near-invincible, none of them could hope to match Emerl's power. Emerl, who was the only remnant of the Third Great Civilization (besides the Chaos and Master Emeralds).

And now, several years after that, the ancient civilization will be remembered...


	2. The War of Mecha

**Chapter One: The War of Mecha **

The war with Dr. Eggman has not been going well up to this point...

G.U.N. has been hard-pressed to keep the ravenous hordes of Dr. Eggman from taking control of entire countries. Dozens of the lighter G.U.N. outposts have fallen, and Eggman has established several, more heavily-defended bases in their places. The Egg Fleet outnumbers the G.U.N. Fleet on a three to one scale, and the force is barely able to keep the citizens secure. Their only victories were in defending key bases so that Eggman didn't yet have a great upper hand just yet. But every offensive battle G.U.N. has undertaken has either failed by close odds, or they were forced back again a day or so later after a fruitless victory...

Except, that is, the few battles where G.U.N. had managed to surprise Eggman's forces with the assistant of a large number of agents... and the Mobians.

Sonic the Hedgehog had already carved through multiple Eggman bases, halting mech production at key times so that G.U.N. could safely evacuate citizens or to drive them further away from G.U.N. Headquarters or Central City (where the President still resided, guarded by over 600,000 G.U.N. troops and 650,000 mechs of varying kinds with fifty G.U.N. destroyers and twenty cruisers ready to escort the President's carrier away if Central City fell). The other Mobians, such as Knuckles the Echidna and Miles Tails Prower, occasionally assisted Sonic or went together or independently. But they only did this on occasion, spending the rest of their time with their loved ones or friends otherwise, attacking Eggman only when G.U.N. desperately needed help, or there was Eggman activity located conveniently close to them.

Two Mobians and a robot, however, were pressed practically full-time.

Shadow the Hedgehog, his wife Rouge the Bat, and their loyal friend Omega had fought by far the most battles against Dr. Eggman since the war had begun, and they have made a huge difference.

On countless occasions, Shadow and his team had torn through enemy ranks and allowed G.U.N. to regroup and organize counterattacks. They had torn down mighty destroyer-ships from the inside out, provided the troops with morale, and more than once, destroyed an entire battalion of mechs by themselves. Shadow's powers and strength, Rouge's skill in combat and in mind, and Omega's steel-hardened loyalty and determination (and nearly unlimited ammunition) had turned back the tides of even the darkest days.

And now, today, Shadow the Hedgehog's destiny will begin to reveal itself...

* * *

G.U.N. Airbase, 12:34 P.M., Tuesday, August 17th (Military calendar) COMBAT ALERT ZETA

* * *

Shadow panted loudly, pumping his legs as hard as they would go across the landing pad before him... if he timed this wrong, he'd plummet through the sky and almost certainly to his death...

Finally, Shadow saw the end of the landing strip, and used what little energy he'd reserved to run even faster, and at the last possible second, leap as the enemy guns still fired upon him. And as Shadow flew through the air, he heard and felt massive explosions behind him as the destroyer in the Egg Fleet was consumed in flames.

For over three hours Shadow had been up here, heading to ships' cores and detonating them, escaping, and jumping to another one, allowing the G.U.N. ships to focus their attention on the nearer ships of the Egg Fleet. Omega, meanwhile, was battling groundside with Sonic and Knuckles, protecting the few remaining advance G.U.N. platoons against an army of over 300,000 Eggman mechs, trying to overwhelm this airbase. The base only had 55,000 G.U.N. troops guarding it, and now 35,000 of them lay dead, the survivors having pulled back within the base, sending only three thousand to support Sonic and the others with a few dozen straggling G.U.N. mechs and agents. But if the G.U.N. fleet managed to push back the Egg Fleet and then bombard Eggman's army below, it'd be a double victory: they'd be allowed to destroy three nearby Eggman factories that were helping to produce more ships (which had been triple-checked to be certain they were valid, actual targets; G.U.N. had been duped into destroying false bases before. It had been Shadow and Rouge who had snuck in and found this out, and had been sent in again to be certain).

Shadow finally landed on the planned assault carrier, which was capable of wiping out two G.U.N. cruisers and maybe a destroyer. If Shadow took care of this, the G.U.N. fleet would be able to send the three assault carriers, five destroyers, and eight frigates to flank the Egg Fleet and decimate them. Looking around, Shadow saw about eight, large, heavy-armor-piercing guns swiveling around, searching for a target. He growled, and fired two Chaos Spears between them, destroying about six. Then Shadow dashed past them, meeting only a few mechs guarding the flight deck and quickly wiping them out with lightning-fast punches and kicks.

"_I wish Rouge were here to take some of the pressure off of me..._" Shadow thought somberly. But then, she would be again after he was through with this mission...

Rouge hadn't been able to perform active duty for the past five months so far, and the war had been going on for a little over a year. Because six months ago, Shadow and Rouge had learned she was pregnant with their first daughter.

They had been first surprised that it had taken so long for one to come along... and Shadow had been twice as astounded as Rouge at thinking about being a parent (which was saying something). Shadow had thought he'd rather be boiled like a chicken than be the father of a whiny, loud, smelly child, but he had eventually warmed up to it; having another little Rouge with a bit of him was a happy thought... and being a father also made him feel somewhat more meaningful: now another person needed him, too...

Shadow finally, after about ten minutes of running and fighting, came to the core, and smashed the stabilizer and power regulator. Running as fast as he could, he saw a G.U.N. helicopter moving in to pick him up. Shadow dove at the last second...

And felt his fingers close firmly around the cold, metal railing, and the ship moved out. Shadow pulled himself on board, took a seat, and breathed a sigh of relief. He heard the Egg Fleet's assault carrier ripple with explosions as they flew off.

"Damn, Shadow... you took out at least twenty ships back there!" the pilot said over his shoulder. "Our ships are moving in to flank them now. Nice work."

Shadow only nodded, gazing out the window as the G.U.N. ships began to move within eye-shot.

"How's the battle going on the ground?" he asked casually.

"A few shuttles arrived, bringing about a hundred extra mechs for us" the pilot said. "Sonic, Omega, and everyone else down there is pushing them back now. We can't beat them, but another few thousand soldiers are rested up and moving in to assist them. By the time we're ready to bombard the horde, we'll still have plenty of soldiers."

Shadow sighed, and nodded; if it were _his_ choice, he'd go ahead and send a destroyer in to bombard the mechanical bastards down there. Maybe he'd get lucky, accidentally get Sonic blown up, and avoid having to go to his and Amy's wedding next week...

"_No... they went to my wedding; I should show the same courtesy_" Shadow though with a half-smirk.

The helicopter flew downwards towards the base, landing on a helipad and dropping Shadow off. Then it quickly refueled and took off again to assist in the battle.

Shadow looked after it, sighed, and looked back up at the Egg Fleet; they were now having a dozen or so ships turn around to face the G.U.N. ships that now flanked them. But the G.U.N. ships fired all their missiles, laser-turrets, chain guns and heavy-duty nuclear molecule-propulsion cannons (used by a magnetic energy source to focus the nuclear force into a single, devastating blast) that were capable of inflicting incredible damage (these were equipped on all battle ships, but were more powerful on the assault carriers and destroyers). Soon, the advancing ships were destroyed, and as the propulsion cannons recharged, the ships' chain-guns, missile launchers and laser turrets opened up again, attacking the forward Egg ships already occupied with the main G.U.N. air defense. Then, when the cannons recharged, they let loose a volley that blew apart sixteen other ships, allowing the G.U.N. fleet to advance.

Feeling that the battle was more in their favor now, Shadow teleported outside the base, and could now see where barely over a thousand G.U.N. troops held out against more than fifty times their numbers. Shadow chuckled to himself; finally, a _real _battle!

Pumping his legs with renewed energy, Shadow quickly advanced towards the battling armies. After a few minutes, he saw Sonic smashing himself into multiple mechs, shattering them. Nearby was Knuckles, his fists a blur as he tore through rank after rank of varying mechs, and Omega, gunning down the robots - whose programming was inferior to his - like flies.

Shadow then leapt up, and while in the air, focused energy to his hand.

"It's good to be back..." he whispered with a chuckle. "Chaos Spear!" and the energy descended upon the mechs like a small, focused meteor.

Sonic tore through another mech, wiped some sweat off of his forehead, and faced Shadow. "Glad to see you could make the party!" he said with a tired but optimistic grin. "We saved some favors for you!"

Shadow ignored him, and went to warping around the mechs and smashing them one by one. Omega was oblivious to Shadow's arrival but for the cover fire he now focused on for his ally. Knuckles, however, was in something of a battle stupor; he'd actually been fighting almost since Eggman's army had arrived. After hours of smashing, kicking, and testing his physical endurance to the limits, his mind was going numb from all the battling. But still, he pressed on, and even now the mechs were no match for him. The red echidna was renowned for nothing greater than his skill in battle, after all.

Shadow flashed around the robots like black and crimson lightning, warping to another group of mechs to take them by surprise every now and then. No bullets or laser attacks seemed to even be capable of harming somebody such as he; the shots went far and wide, missing Shadow by mere inches, but never any closer. He decimated them, leaving scrap metal in his wake, and inspiring the moral of the G.U.N. troops, who now pushed on and fought harder with renewed vigor. A few G.U.N. Juggernaut tank-mechs (like what Shadow had been forced to battle awhile ago at G.U.N. Headquarters when Mauve the Bat had reprogrammed the mechs) now rolled forward, blasting holes in the horde of mechs and the G.U.N. force advanced, now allowing a little relief to Shadow and the others.

Shadow now kicked a mech straight in the head, flipping it over to slam onto the ground, its head hanging on by a single wire. Shadow now found himself in the middle of about fifty mechs now, however, and every single one was aiming at him, eager to put down this major adversary.

Shadow just laughed darkly; what stupid, obsolete machines...

"Chaos... BLAST!!" the ebony hedgehog shouted, and the explosive surge of energy cleared out all the mechs within a fifty meter range of him.

Explosions of laser and missile exploded through the horde of mechs from the Juggernauts, and the G.U.N. troops established a position, refusing to give ground. But the mechs kept pressing; their numbers were by far the greater, and not even Shadow, Sonic, and the others could hold out forever, as they'd been fighting all day long. And once they fell, the base would fall as well; there were simply too many Eggman robots, and too few G.U.N. soldiers here.

'_Well, if we fall here...'_ Shadow thought grimly, using Chaos Control and smashing twenty mechs while time slowed, '_We can pull back, regroup, and push them back; this battle is costing Eggman more than its worth.'_

But then, hope returned as four G.U.N. air-fighters zoomed in, and fired more missiles onto the mech army. Then they fired their machine guns upon the lines of robots nearest Shadow and the others, and gunned them back, allowing them a breather.

"Agent Shadow, this is Vice-Admiral Zackary." The voice came over Shadow's communicator, and he recognized it as the man who was second-in-command of the entire G.U.N. Air-Fleet. "Pull out of there now; we're sending in some bombers and a destroyer to neutralize Eggman's ground forces; head back to base, we'll keep them off your backs."

"Roger that" Shadow said, and faced Sonic. "Time to move out" he told the blue hedgehog, indicating with a jerk of his head at the G.U.N. base.

"Aw, but Shadow, I was just getting tied with Knuckles's score..." Sonic complained.

"Race you there" Shadow said, and as if somebody had flipped a switch, Sonic ran at full speed towards the base, already halfway there. Knuckles, meanwhile, gave a heavy sigh and ran after him. Shadow shook his head, and nodding at Omega, began to run as well. The G.U.N. fighters, meanwhile, kept the robot horde back far enough for Shadow and the others to remain safe from gunfire. The G.U.N. troops began to run as well, or board some of the Juggernauts that were further back and go. But the damaged mechs and Juggernauts that couldn't move held their ground, assisting the fighters in keeping the horde back.

Finally, Shadow and the others arrived at the base, entered, and the triple-titanium walls sealed behind him and activated their energy shields, and the auto-turrets swiveled at the ready, just in case some of the robot army should break past. The tired soldiers either went to go get injuries treated, sat down and rested, or fell asleep as soon as they put their weapons away and lay down on the ground (Knuckles was one of these people).

Shadow was now at the observation tower, getting a very clear view of the army of robots. The fighters were still bombarding them, but Shadow saw one of them was badly damaged. The jet took a large laser blast to the right wing, and it exploded. But in his/her final action, the plane spun upwards, and did a kamikaze-dive onto the horde, killing about seventy or so mechs with their final action.

Shadow almost felt touched by this bravery and logical thinking; had the pilot ejected, they either would have died in the soon-to-come bombardment, or by the mechs. And by willing to die for G.U.N., they had taken some of the enemy with them.

And then, there was a deep rumbling sound, and a large G.U.N. destroyer flew in merely half a kilometer above the base, causing the metal beneath Shadow's feet to vibrate somewhat violently. Shadow watched in interest as the destroyer suddenly deployed five bombers which flew over the horde, spread out, and bombed the outer groups of robots, boxing the majority of them together. Then, the destroyer suddenly let loose a volley of hundreds of missiles onto them, blowing up thousands of them; the mechs with armor intended to withstand a few clips of rifle ammo and absorb the splash of an explosion from a grenade stood no chance against ammunition intended to pierce the hulls of mighty assault carriers. Soon, the robot army (which had consisted of roughly 201,000 by the time G.U.N. and Shadow were done with them) was down to a meager 13,000. But still, the mechs tried to advance upon the G.U.N. base with absolutely no air support or ground reinforcements. Then the bombers strafed in again, blowing up about six thousand more. And the destroyer let lose another volley of laser-beams, literally cutting the mechs into smoldering, charred slivers. Only 950 or so mechs now remained. Then, the bombers and the surviving fighters flew in again, and finished them all off.

Shadow couldn't help but smile to himself; G.U.N. had just earned a dearly-needed victory. Now the G.U.N. fleet was free to destroy the factories Eggman had nearby.

Sighing, Shadow sat down, and fell asleep; even the Ultimate Life Form needed to restock on stamina, and what way better than to do so while dreaming of your sexy wife?

The Next Day, 11:00 AM

Shadow awoke with a large yawn on his cot, and immediately rose up, put on his hover-shoes, and walked out of the room. The soldiers he met (and saluted to him) seemed in high spirits; shortly after their victory in defending the base, the G.U.N. Fleet had delivered the war's first significant offensive victory by completely decimating three large mech/ship factories Eggman had tried to hide away about twenty miles north. Shadow returned the salutes with a small smile, and walked out onto the helipad outside.

A few hundred men were being taken to reinforce a base that had suffered an attack overnight, along with two destroyers, but everyone else was refortifying the base, even the agents. Omega was assisting several soldiers in putting up extra turrets on the wall, and the small mech factory within the base was running at full-capacity, churning out a new squad of mechs and several crates of weapons/ammo every hour or so. Knuckles was lifting some girders to reinforce the wall-parts that had been damaged during the battle (Sonic was mocking Knuckles by running around with just as many girders but at a much faster pace). Shadow folded his arms, watching everyone go about their business until a G.U.N. corporal tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry to disturb you sir, but your wife's contacting you now" he said.

Shadow's eyes widened. "Where?!" he asked frantically.

"She's on webcam, sir. We're transmitting it to your laptop in your quarters" the corporal said.

Shadow nodded, quickly thanked the officer, and ran towards his room. He threw open the door, and saw his laptop just activating its webcam. He sat down before it, and then an image of Rouge appeared on it.

"Hi Shadow!" she greeted happily, winking at her husband.

Shadow grinned at this. "Oh my God, Rouge... hi baby" he said, almost quiet with happiness in seeing his wife after fighting in the war for so long without her.

Rouge chuckled softly. "Hey, there's someone here who wants to see you..." she said gently, and reached for something off-screen...

And she came back into view cradling a small, gray-furred, infant bat, cooing curiously.

Shadow suddenly felt his throat tighten up, and his heart suddenly felt like it was melting. For a few seconds, he couldn't breathe...

He was gazing into his own crimson eyes when he looked at his daughter...

Rouge looked at the baby she cradled, and smiled up at Shadow. "Yeah... she has your eyes" she said quietly, and nuzzled the baby's forehead.

"Wow, Rouge... that's a nice-looking kid..." Shadow said in disbelief, and smiled playfully. "Nice work."

Rouge smirked at him. "You provided your share of chromosomes" she said teasingly.

Shadow's eyes half-lidded themselves as he smirked devilishly at his wife. "How about I donate some more when I get back?" he whispered seductively.

Rouge chuckled. "That decision was already made for you" she whispered back, and blew Shadow a kiss, who chuckled.

"What should we name her?" Shadow asked her.

"Mm... I was thinking 'Luna'..." Rouge said thoughtfully. "But I wanted to check with you."

Shadow smiled again. "Rouge, that's perfect. Luna it is" he said with an approving nod.

Rouge chuckled again, and Luna started fussing suddenly. "Shadow? She needs some food, and I gotta go into town soon, so I better go..." she said, her ears drooping slightly.

"Hey, hon, I'll be home by this evening" Shadow said with a smile. "I'll see you two ladies then."

Rouge brightened again. "Alright baby... see you then" she said, and blew another kiss, which Shadow made a catching gesture in turn.

"Bye Rouge. I love you" Shadow said.

"I love you too Shad-Shad" Rouge said with a warm smile, and they reluctantly closed off the link.

Shadow leaned back into his chair, and sighed happily.

"Goddamn... I'm a father" he said to himself with an ironic smirk. "Who'd have thought? Not me or Gerald, that's for sure..."

Meanwhile, with Sonic

"So, I should be home in a couple hours, Amy" Sonic was saying over a phone a G.U.N. soldier had given him. "How much is there left to do?"

"Not much" Amy replied over the line. "All the invitations got sent out yesterday, but I still need a bridesmaid... Tikal's the maid of honor..."

"How about Rouge?" Sonic asked, wincing as he anticipated his fiancé's reply.

"Ugh... you really think I should?" Amy asked, sounding appalled. "I mean, she'll be trying to get all the attention on her..."

"Ah, I'll try and convince Shadow to tell her not to dress in her best suit, okay honey?" Sonic replied. "I mean, if that'll make you feel better."

"Sure Sonic!" Amy said, and Sonic could practically see her approving grin. "As long as I get the most attention, we'll be fine!"

Sonic chuckled. "Alright Amy, I'm sure you'll be getting _lots _of attention when I mack you on the altar" he teased.

Amy giggled on the other end. "Oh Sonic... I can't wait until you're my husband!" she said softly, sounding almost tearful with joy.

Sonic's smile softened as well, and he took a deep breath. "Yeah... I can't wait until you're my bride, honey" he said barely louder than a whisper.

Amy sighed in happiness, and there was a warm silence before she asked; "You think I look good in my bride's dress?"

Sonic chuckled. "Amy, hon, you look beautiful in anything... but yes; you look especially gorgeous in that thing!" Sonic replied.

Amy giggled softly. "Thanks sweetie. Alright... well, I'll see you soon, Sonic" Amy said.

"Okay sweetie... I love you" Sonic said.

"Love you too!" Amy replied, and the connection ceased.

Sonic looked at the cell phone, sighed deeply in a sense of peace, and handed it back to a nearby G.U.N. soldier.

Sonic walked by to find a helicopter readying to take off. Knuckles was loading some stuff onto it, and Sonic decided to lend a hand, not having much else to do. The red echidna greeted him with a small smile and a tilt of the head. Sonic gave him a thumbs-up and heaved up two bags of supplies onto the helicopter.

"So, how's Amy?" Knuckles asked, handing the last bag to the co-pilot.

"Really good" Sonic replied, leaning casually against the chopper. "She's really psyched about the wedding, let me tell you..."

"Yeah, Tikal keeps on asking me what our wedding's gonna be like" Knuckles said, and sighed. "I don't know if I'm ready to consider that just yet. Y'know, I love her, but I'm not quite ready for that yet..."

"Yeah, it takes time" Sonic said, and brushed his hands together. "Give it at least two or three months more before you get serious about it." Sonic glanced behind him at the helicopter, then back at Knuckles, who was still nodding to Sonic's comment.

"Where's this chopper headed?" Sonic asked, jerking a thumb behind him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, this thing's taking us back" Knuckles replied. "They don't want stray Eggman mechs trailing people who travel on the ground to a secure zone."

"Aw, I could outrun them like always!" Sonic said with a scoff, but didn't object further to going on the chopper; to tell the truth, he felt better having the metal walls of the chopper around him than in the open in a war-zone: more than once, he'd been ambushed by mechs, and while he _had _outrun them, they had shot so close to the mark Sonic had felt the breeze of the bullets passing him.

Soon enough, Shadow and Omega arrived there too, and as always, Sonic saw Shadow's dagger attached to the ebony hedgehog's G.U.N. combat belt, along with a standard pistol and a few clips of ammunition. Looking at the dagger, Sonic felt a light twinge of pain in his stomach as he remembered that Kaynyx the Wolf had given that weapon to Shadow as a late wedding gift, which had helped the hedgehog greatly in combat since then. Sonic remembered how Kaynyx had given his life so that he, Shadow, Amy, and their friends and allies might live later on, and now his blessing had given Sonic and Amy time to be married.

"Sonic? You gonna cry?" Shadow asked with a self-amused smirk as he climbed aboard the chopper, bringing the blue hedgehog out of his daydream. "You looked all misted there for a sec."

"Yeah I'm fine" Sonic said with a sigh. "Just... looking at your dagger."

"Hmph. Why? Couldn't find another wedding gift for Amy?" Shadow said with a scoff. "I have no doubt of that; blowing all your money on chili dogs and sex advice..."

"Stuff it" Sonic muttered as Omega heavily boarded the helicopter with several loud _Thuds! _and _Clanks!_.

Shadow didn't say anything more, just taking a seat next to Omega and across from Knuckles. When Sonic had buckled in, the chopper slowly lifted off, many G.U.N. soldiers below bidding them farewell. Then, the helicopter (two G.U.N. fighters on the left and right of it to escort them) flew towards Emerald Town, where Sonic lived with Amy. Rouge and Tikal would be there to meet Shadow and Knuckles, where they'd then go home. Shadow and Rouge would be able to drive fairly quickly to their house in Night Babylon, and transport was being provided to take Tikal and Knuckles back to Angel Island.

"Ah, man... after three weeks of fighting out here I can't wait to get a bit of green grass, hanging out in the sun, talking to Tikal..." Knuckles said wistfully.

"Yeah man, it's great... I'm getting so tired of this stupid war" Sonic said, giving Knuckles a pat on the shoulder. "Can't wait to be married... I'm so ready to be married."

"You guys know what I'm gonna do when I get back?" Knuckles asked everyone, and even Shadow listened in.

"There's one spot on the island I haven't shown Tikal... there's some sand down there, and it's a perfect beach-place... we can dive down into the ocean, and there's some small hills he can climb back onto the island, and when we get back, we'll eat that pasta-salad she's so good at making!" Knuckles said, grinning and sighed happily.

"Yeah man... can't wait to cuddle with Amy again..." Sonic said, leaning back into his seat. "Go see a movie, drink some champagne when we get home, sit close to the fire... maybe even... y'know..." Sonic looked down, his face warming drastically.

"What? What's wrong?" Knuckles asked.

"Yes, Sonic, what perverts you with embarrassment?" Shadow asked with an evil, knowing-smirk.

"Well... y'know... bed-fun..." Sonic mumbled, turning bright red.

Knuckles laughed and slapped his knees, but Shadow just rolled his eyes. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Sonic" he said with an incline of his chin. "How else are we to reproduce?"

"Yeah, but still..." Sonic said, sighed, and finally looked up. "What about you Shadow? What will you do when you get back?"

"Ah..." Shadow shrugged. "I just can't wait to hold my daughter... we named her Luna."

"Awww, such a sweet daddy!" Knuckles laughed, and Sonic lightly punched Shadow on the shoulder.

"Adorable, man! Adorable!" the blue hedgehog said with a smile. "Who'd have thought Shadow would say something so sweet?"

"Shut the hell up" Shadow told them, but still smirked a little. He turned to speak to the pilot. "How much longer until we get there?" he asked.

"A little over two hours. Quicker if there's no need to slow down or stop" the pilot replied.

Shadow sighed, leaned back in his seat, and let his mind wander to dreamy thoughts about what he was going to do to Rouge when he returned.


	3. The Lost Ones

**Chapter Two: The Lost Ones**

* * *

Dr. Eggman's Main Base of Operations, one hour after Shadow and the others' departure

* * *

Here, there was a large one hundred-story tower, the lower ninety five stories hidden underground. The five stories that were above the ground, however, were heavily cloaked by dozens of different powerful, extremely advanced devices Eggman had triple checked against G.U.N. to test their effectiveness. Not even the most sensitive, thorough scanners could detect the tower, and neither could the sharpest eye. The cloaking field also hid away thousands of destroyers, assault carriers, frigates, you name it; they were there, ready to decimate any approaching fleet that would oppose them. And almost a million anti-tank, anti-infantry, and anti-air turrets surrounded the base of the tower, which was covered in varying sizes of laser beams, the larger ones capable of slicing a cruiser in half, the smallest were capable of slicing up a jeep and ensuing its explosion. And hundreds of thousands of mechs wait on a hair-trigger standby mode, ready to swarm out and defend the base from imminent attack. Radars were ready to send out a signal to other nearby bases to send reinforcements if needed. This was the impregnable, and as of yet undetected stronghold of Dr. Eggman.

After Shadow and the others had attacked Mephiles' fortress over a year ago, and Eggman had been working with the fiend along with Red Pine and the Metarex, Eggman's army of mechs had been considerably diminished, and every last Shadow Android Advance Infantry Mech had been lost. And when Shade the Echidna was trying to hire gangs as muscle about eleven months later, Eggman had beaten him to many of them, and had hired the gangs to guard his few remaining bases, steal supplies, and assist the remaining mechs build new factories while he allowed G.U.N. to destroy his old bases to lure them into a sense of false victory. Now, once again, he was a powerful threat to the world.

Yet, he was feeling unhappy at the moment.

* * *

Egg Citadel's main control room, with Eggman himself

* * *

"BLAST IT ALL!!" Eggman shouted, pounding the controls before him. "How did they locate my ship factories so quickly?! That will set me back _months_ on my fleet! And if G.U.N. keeps building them at the pace they are, their main fleet may soon match mine!" The ingenious doctor rubbed his temples with one hand, and impatiently tapped the metal controls before him with the other.

"Very well... I shall have to strike back at their factories as well, and crush one of their bases in one swift stroke!" he said, and smiled maliciously. "With Metal Sonic leading this little armada, things should go fairly smoothly! I'll take a hundred destroyers and carriers in, cloak them, and bring in one or two thousand frigates and cruisers from the rear and decimate them and bombard their precious little facilities into rubble! They'll never see me coming!"

That wasn't certain, though; Eggman hadn't yet tested the cloaking devices on the ships, and had only ran the odds of them working well to be only slightly better than fifty-fifty. But the odds of the radars having difficulty detecting them and being hard to see were almost certain.

"Metal Sonic!" Eggman shouted into a mike. "Are your armor and battle-processor upgrades complete?"

"Yes, doctor" the metallic voice replied sullenly. "My capacity in combat has been advanced considerably."

"Good. Go to sector alpha immediately. There will be approximately one hundred thousand mechs and heavy-armor units awaiting you. Head about fifty miles northwest of there with the army, and rendezvous with another group of mechs there, and await further orders. Understand?"

"Yes, sir... carrying out orders" Metal Sonic replied with some irritation.

The sinister doctor smiled to himself as the link closed; soon, G.U.N. would pay for the slight upper hand they had gained in this war. Now reflecting on it, Eggman would be able to soon deploy his Shadow Android Mark Twos, which were faster than the first ones he had made, could take in more damage, and had their weaponry upgraded to be able to eventually take down a tank. He would need those to battle back Sonic, Shadow, and the other meddling little Mobian rats. Once he did, however, G.U.N. would eventually be forced to surrender to his overwhelming armada, and he could establish his empire at long last.

Dr. Eggman leaned back in his chair slightly, now thinking it somewhat trivial how he had lost his temper earlier.

* * *

Emerald Town, 5:47 in the afternoon

* * *

Silver the Hedgehog slowly glided over the buildings of the small, peaceful town where he spent most of his time just hanging around in peace. Blaze and him often visited each other, and had become something of a somewhat intimate couple over the past few months, but they hadn't yet said those three simple, powerful words; "I Love you."

Was that how Silver felt? He wasn't sure; the psychic hedgehog cared for Blaze perhaps more than anything, but would he be able to sacrifice the dearest things in his life for her? Meh, he was too young to think about that... Blaze always said so when Silver got into one of his confused ramblings; "You're so naïve."

Silver had only fought in three or four battles in the war against Eggman so far, and one of them had been alongside Blaze, defending Emerald Town. He sometimes considered taking the field more often with Sonic and Knuckles, but felt like more of a guardian for this little town and those he cared about more than a warrior. Silver knew the war was at something of a stalemate save for the factories G.U.N. had destroyed, hopefully allowing them to slow Eggman's fleet construction enough to match his numbers better, and wanted to help more to end it quickly. But he had something of an intuition, and it told him to be patient, and that he would be needed soon. Still, the memory of when he had offered a bit of assistance (in _Ultimate Darkness_) against Mephiles when Shadow and the others had battled him on the mountains remained vivid in Silver's memory. He wished to feel the rush of a major battle, fighting alongside those he was determined to protect.

But, he was patient.

So, in the meantime, he spent time hanging out with Blaze and harnessing his powers as constructively as he could; helping construction workers by moving stuff delicately around, bending down a tree (with his telekinesis) so a family could get their pet out of it, and other stuff.

Suddenly, Silver spotted a helicopter and two fighter-planes coming up on the horizon.

'_That must be Sonic and the others'_ he thought to himself with a smile, and dropped out of the sky to land on a house. He leapt down, using his powers to slow his fall just mere inches off the ground, and landed like a leaf on both feet. Silver then half-jogged towards where the chopper was apparently going to land (where a huge crowd of people were gathered), eager to see his friends again. Along the way, he saw a light magenta cat running nearby...

"Blaze?" Silver called, heading towards his long-time friend.

"Silver!" Blaze replied, and they ran over and embraced each other. "I thought you were still floating around?"

Silver shook his head. "Nah, got boring. I just wanted to say 'hi' to Sonic and the guys for a sec" he replied.

Blaze finally let go of Silver, nodding at the chopper. "Well, now is as good a time as any" she replied, and they headed towards the chopper, where three other familiar people stood; Rouge the Bat was in deep conversation with a G.U.N. soldier, and Tikal the Echidna and Amy the Hedgehog were speaking together as well.

Blaze smiled slightly. "Nice welcoming committee for the boys, hm?" she commented to Silver, who shrugged.

"Ah, its been a few weeks; months longer for Shadow" Silver replied. "Wouldn't you miss me if I was gone that long?"

Blaze shrugged. "Maybe a little" she teased.

"Hey Silver! Hi Blaze!" a young voice shouted from behind, and they turned to see Miles Tails Prower running towards them. "Did I miss anything?"

Blaze shook her head. "No, they just got back" she explained.

"Alright! Can't wait to see Sonic! Catch you guys later!" Tails called, waved at them, and ran towards the crowd.

Silver chuckled, shook his head, and looked up in time to see Shadow jump professionally out of the helicopter, shortly followed by Sonic, Knuckles, and a graceless Omega. The group received an enormous explosion of applause and cheers from the crowd. Knuckles smiled sheepishly while Sonic waved and grinned at everybody. Shadow merely nodded, scanning the crowd for a certain somebody. Omega stood there, emotionless save for the irritation of the slight overloads of his aural sensors.

Rouge, Amy, and Tikal now had all their eyes upon the ones they loved, their eyes sparkling in adoration. They then pushed their way through the crowd (who eventually made way for them), and up towards them.

Shadow looked right at Rouge, momentarily taken aback by seeing his beautiful wife after months alone righting against Eggman's robots. Then, they took a few steps towards each other, then ran, and embraced each other with all the strength in their arms. A gentle applause came afterwards, but Shadow didn't care; Rouge's warm, soft body pressed against his, their arms tightly holding each other, it was like they were all alone, back home with nothing but their love...

Sonic and Amy hugged each other, happy to see each other, but having only parted two or three weeks ago. They swiftly kissed the other's lips, and holding onto her, Sonic waved out at the crowd, showing off his love for Amy (which received louder applause).

Knuckles and Tikal hugged each other as well, and the red echidna was content with a peck on the cheek for now.

Finally, Shadow led Rouge down, holding her hand, while Sonic carried Amy bridal style and Tikal and Knuckles had their arms entwined. Shadow and Rouge headed towards the car Rouge had driven there, but not before spotting Silver and Blaze, who waved at them. Rouge waved back, but Shadow only nodded at them.

"Huh. Even married, he hasn't changed much, has he?" Silver muttered over to Blaze, who shook her head. Silver brightened when Sonic and Amy walked towards them, though.

"Hey, Silv!" Sonic greeted, and gently set Amy down on her feet. "How's it hanging?"

Silver smiled back and high-fived Sonic. "Good as always, Sonic" he replied.

Sonic nodded. "Cool, cool... you and Blaze there getting along okay?" he asked.

"Fine as ever" Blaze answered.

"I hope you guys will be able to make the wedding!" Amy said, and tightly embraced Sonic's arm. "It's going to be _amazing_, isn't it sweetie?"

Sonic smiled gently at her. "Yeah... most amazing thing of my life" he said, and put his arm around her.

Silver nodded. "Well, we should probably be getting back now" he said. "Blaze and I have a reservation at 7:00, so we better go and get ready."

"Alright" Sonic said with a smile. "Hey, you guys doing anything day after tomorrow? Amy and I just have a few things left to finish for the wedding... maybe we can have a double-date or something?"

"Sounds good... that okay Blaze?" Silver asked.

"Certainly" Blaze said with a slight smile. "What time?"

"8:00 good?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, that's fine" Silver said with a nod. "Alright. See you then!"

"Bye guys!" Amy said with a wave, and they went their own ways to their homes.

"Hey, Sonic!" Tails called, finally making his way (as politely as possible) through the crowd and getting to Sonic.

"Hey buddy!" Sonic said, and they high-fived each other, shook hands, and patted each other on the back. "Good to see you man, I was starting to miss you!"

"I was going over some battleship schematics with some G.U.N. engineers, trying to improve their armor and weapon systems... hopefully it'll help out" Tails said.

"I'm sure it will, Tails" Amy said with a positive smile. "Everyone says you're better than Eggman when it comes to that stuff!"

Tails's face turned a slight pink color. "Ah... we'll see" he said sheepishly. "I just thought I'd say hi, but now they need me to help finish the new schematics for their standard-mech units, so I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright buddy! Hey, did you get the wedding invitation?" Sonic asked.

Tails nodded. "Yep; four days ago!" he affirmed.

"Okay dude. See you later!" Sonic said, and waved at Tails as he went the other way towards a G.U.N. jeep.

Then, Sonic picked Amy up bridal style again, they said farewell to Knuckles and Tikal (as the echidnas headed for a sail-ship that would take them to Angel Island), and the blue hedgehog vanished as he ran back home.

* * *

With Shadow and Rouge

* * *

Shadow now drove the car, Rouge's head now nestled against his shoulder. She sighed happily, stroking his white chest fur that she missed so much. They drove along in a warm silence, both of them anticipating being at home with each other and their first child.

"You're going to get a kick out of seeing Luna..." Rouge said softly. "She is just the most adorable little baby in the universe, and her eyes..." The ivory bat turned to look into Shadow's eyes. "So much like yours... I see you when I look into them..."

Shadow smiled softly and turned a corner that led them into Night Babylon. "Don't get all sentimental before I've actually held her, Rouge" he said teasingly.

Rouge smirked evilly at him. "And why not? Not in the mood for softy-wofty-poo crap right now?" she whispered, and licked Shadow's cheek, almost making him swerve into a mailbox.

"Rouge! Restrain yourself!" Shadow said irritably, but Rouge just laughed.

"It's great to have you back, Shad-Shad" she said matter-of-factly, and kissed Shadow on the cheek. The ebony hedgehog's frown softened back into a smile.

"It's great to be back, hot-stuff" he said seductively, and swiftly kissed Rouge's nose, almost hitting another mailbox while distracted.

* * *

G.U.N. Airbase, Two Hours ago (same one where Shadow was stationed earlier). Approximately two and a half hours after Shadow and the others' departure

* * *

The base was running smoothly, and the wounded were now patched up for the most part. Some were a bit nervous without Sonic to assist them, but Omega was due to return tomorrow morning after he helped secure a build site for another friendly-mech factory where one of Eggman's used to be. Everyone's morale was boosted now as they had considerably slowed down the advancement of Eggman's fleet production, and had now gained a slight upper hand in this war.

The G.U.N. High Commander and the rest of the command staff had huge plans for this particular air-base, and had reinforced it with several units of heavy-armor tanks and mechs and a battalion of newly-graduated recruits, only a few dozen of them and their C.O.'s having seen action. Soon, they would be using this base to advance their forces and punch holes through Eggman's bases, hoping to eventually to find his headquarters, capture Eggman, and end the war as quickly as possible.

A man named Major Kran was now in complete command of the base's operations, and smiled to himself seeing all the high-spirited men around him, showing him and the other officers total respect and discipline, even from the recruits. He now paced the control center of the base where everyone monitored the base and its surroundings, going through reports and other such busy work.

"Sir?" a man spoke up, who monitored air traffic. "We got something on the radar..."

Kran walked over, looking at what was appearing on the screen.

"Did you get its I.D. signature?" he asked.

"I can't get it sir... hold on, I'll try and communicate" the man said. "Unidentified aircraft? Please state identity and business in restricted G.U.N. Airspace or we will use deadly-"

"This is the President of the United Nations, and I am requesting immediate clearance for landing at your base, over" a strong, commanding voice spoke.

Karn's eyes widened. "The President?" he mumbled. "He's not scheduled to be here... does his voice check out?"

"Yes sir... I've already triple-checked it" the man said, and sighed. "Still, he should have contacted us earlier... wait, I'm receiving a visual..."

An image appeared on the screen, and it was immediately recognizable as the President's shuttle. Karn, though still a little suspicious, nodded slowly.

"Yes, Mr. President, we will give you immediate clearance to land and a guard to escort you into the facility, over" Karn spoke.

"Thank you. Out" the President said, and the link closed.

"Put the base on 'alpha alert' now" Karn said. "Nobody in paranoia, I just want guns within reach and people on their toes."

"Yes Major" the man said again, and rapidly typed in orders and sent them throughout the base while Karn repeated the orders and described the situation via the P.A.

"Try and contact our Central City sources; try and confirm if the President has left" Karn ordered.

The officer typed in rapid orders, but suddenly frowned.

"Sir... all contact lines to Central City have been froze" he said. "I'm trying to get through now."

Karn ran a hand through his hair and across his face; he didn't like this at all... not one bit.

"How long until he arrives?" Karn asked.

"The shuttle is forty minutes out and counting, sir" he reported.

* * *

39 Minutes Later

The shuttle was now clearly in sight, and the lack of air-guards further disturbed Karn. Finally, the ship landed on the deck, and a line of soldiers stood at attention, awaiting the President. Karn felt a measure of relief when, sure enough, the President exited the shuttle, and the soldiers saluted. Four of them escorted the President into the command room, where Major Karn immediately saluted.

"Mr. President, an honor for you to be here, sir" Karn said respectfully.

The President nodded. "You certainly do seem to be keeping things in tip-top shape around here, major" he said casually, glancing around him.

Karn smiled. "Thank you, sir" he said graciously. "Do you mind me asking exactly what you need here?"

The President looked towards the other side of the room. "Well, I just need some information from the mainframe..." he said, clasping his hands behind his back.

Karn frowned suddenly. "Sir? Why would that be?"

"I need it for very important reasons... to confirm something that could eventually win this war" the President said.

"Well... sir, how could that be?" Karn asked, but the President shot him a glare.

"I wouldn't expect a feeble-minded soldier such as yourself to understand, major" he snarled.

Karn bowed his head apologetically, but his courage didn't waver. "Sir... you don't seem like normal... you look kind of pale, are you well?"

"Ah... this war has worn it stress on me as time's passed" the President replied.

Karn approached the President, receiving some worried looks from the men and women who worked on their computers nearby.

"Now Karn, about that data..." the President said, and slowly turned to face Karn. "You won't need to worry about what I need... because you'll never hear about it."

Then, Karn froze when he could've sworn the President's blue eyes flickered a bright, green color.

"S-sir?" Karn asked, but then, something extraordinary happened; the color slowly drained from the President's face, clothes and all, until he was a dull grey hue. Then his eyes widened into slits, and turned green. Then he seemed to be melting, but was rearranging himself into... something.

Karn reflexively pulled out his sidearm, and fired at the shapeless mass, but it had little to no effect. The gray ooze material finally stopped moving, and suddenly, the "President" was about a foot taller, and appeared to be a completely black, bipedal, slightly-humanoid mass of dark material, and two, blazing green eyes full of anger and hate blazed on its head. The ooze suddenly formed two large blades, one on each hand. Then one blade transformed into what appeared to be countless, almost needle-thin blades. The guards in the room fired their rifles, and Major Karn pulled out of the room, speaking over the P.A. to put the base on combat alert gamma.

"Sir... is that Mephiles?!" one officer asked as they fled the room.

"No... I've seen Mephiles... that's definitely not him" Karn replied.

Inside the room, the dark creature fired the needles like ammunition, which pierced deeply into the soldiers, and detonated, blowing them apart with needle fragments. Then, the dark creature summoned up as much energy as it could, and unleashed it in such a violent surge, the entire room was blown apart.

The entire base was now in chaos, and the dark mass suddenly seemed to grow a foot taller once the room was shattered. It then focused energy into its larger blade, and fired an explosive burst of energy, blowing up a section of parked tanks and jeeps. It continued to fire, blowing up anything or anyone it saw. A squad of G.U.N. mechs, with a Juggernaut model in tow, fired upon it, but even the ship-destroying firepower of the tank only slowed the creature, and they were destroyed as well. A group of agents all armed with katanas engaged it, slashing away at it, but it fired the needles into them, blowing them all away. And it finally grew another foot in height, and its whole body expanded in proportion, now about twelve feet tall and four feet wide. It continued to destroy the base, and suddenly hefted up a tank, and tossed it like a football, crushing soldiers and vehicles. Then its eyes looked over at one of the few undestroyed buildings, and its eyes narrowed. But before approaching it, it destroyed the hangar with several explosive surges, and then sprinted towards the building that contained the base's mainframe.

The dark being quickly disposed of the guards, tore down the door like it was made of hay, and looked upon the data storage unit that linked every computer in the base together. The being snickered evilly, and one of its arms suddenly became a shapeless mass again, and he trust it onto the mainframe. The dark ooze quickly spread out like freakishly long, black, hellish fingers, and inserted themselves into the mainframe.

The dark being gave out a mirthless, mocking imitation of a laugh as it bypassed the firewalls that technicians and genius scientists had spent years developing in barely two seconds. Then it went deep into the files, searching thoroughly yet rapidly...

It could not fail its master.

Karn, who was now bleeding on the forehead where debris had hit him, gazed up at the semi-behemoth that was stealing data like an unguarded cookie jar, and took a rocket launcher he'd grabbed from the armory, and fired right at the creature's head.

The impact dizzied the being, but not enough to make it take its attention away from the mainframe. Finally, it found it...

The weapon's location... the temple of the ancient civilization... on Angel Island!

Chuckling, the creature faced Karn, locking eyes with the fragile being. Then, swiftly, its blade-arm struck out like a viper, severing Karn's left leg with a single thrust. The officer screamed out, and fell to the ground, clutching at the bleeding stump. The dark being towered over him.

"Pathetic flesh-covered scum!" it said in a deep, unearthly voice with a cold tinge to it. "None shall leave here alive!"

Then, the being picked Karn up by the head, and heaved the officer into one of the few jeeps that remained, where the survivors were all heading and trying to make an escape. But the evil creature showed no remorse; another burst of energy was sufficient to wipe them and the vehicles out. The soldiers then tried to make a break for the remains of the hangar, with over ten thousand mechs trying to hold back the enemy's attention, but several short bursts of needle-blasts killed the robots.

A last, desperate group of agents attacked the dark creature with all they had, but left no mark, and were quickly killed. Then, satisfied that no survivors would be escaping any time soon, it turned its attention to other matters.

Suddenly, its black ooze structure rippled, and a chunk of it fell off and onto the ground. But it seemed to swell and expand as the smell of blood and smoke reached it, and then it split into eight other blobs of ooze, which also swelled and expanded. Then, they began to take shape as well. Eventually, they all took bipedal shapes as well of the same anonymous type as the original, save for one which had some vaguely-feminine curves to its body.

Finally, their eyes opened, and they were the same green as the first. One of them, the third tallest of the whole group, snorted when it saw the one who had destroyed the base.

"Bah... Devabrawn" it said in a dark, somewhat-raspy voice that burned with power and hate. "It figures our lord would assign _you_ the duty of giving us strength through destruction... but how did you yourself take form?"

"Only the exalted lord of darkness is to thank for nurturing me" Devabrawn replied.

The female crossed its arms, its eyes narrowed in amusement. "A shame the master didn't let me have at least one throat to slit tonight..." she said in a hissing voice.

"You think you're thirsty for death, Nadrina... I forget what fresh blood of weaklings tastes like!" another said, his hands balled into fists.

"Enough!" the one with the voice of char and fire spoke. "I, Hades, loyal server of our master, shall see to it that we are all blessed... with the bestowing of curses to our enemies!" Then, the entire group took formation into a v-shape behind him, and there they stood; Nadrina, Devabrawn, Consumar, Hades, Bane, Xar, Sparxan, Izar, and Hurratore. All created by forces of horrid, unspeakable evils, spawned by the essence of ultimate evil.

"Fellow Lost Ones!!" Hades cried into the night sky. "OUR TIME HAS COME!!" And they united their powers, and all the surviving humans and mechs within the base ceased to exist.


	4. True Love, Arrival of New Evil

**Chapter Three: True Love/Arrival of New Evil**

Shadow finally pulled into the driveway of their house, turned the car off, and stepped out. He looked over the house, and sighed deeply.

"Home sweet home" he said with a shrug.

Rouge walked up to him, put an arm around one of Shadow's, and nuzzled his shoulder. "You gonna go in, or are we gonna stay out here all night?" she teased.

Shadow smirked at her, and nuzzled her cheek. "Be patient, Rouge..." he whispered. "It's been awhile; I'd like to spend some time taking things in."

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine, goggle like a foreign tourist then" she said, and gave Shadow a playful pinch on the tail.

The hedgehog sustained a yelp, and shot Rouge a playful glare before finally heading inside. Shadow inserted the house key, turned it, and silently opened the door. Slowly, Shadow's familiarity with the house returned to him as he looked around the living room, and all their appliances. He inhaled the scent of their house (a sedative aroma, to be sure), and faced Rouge, who pulled the door closed behind them.

"Where is she?" Shadow asked in a half-whisper.

"She's sleeping in the spare room... I got it fixed up for her" Rouge said gently. "C'mon, I'll show you..." and she entwined her arm with Shadow's and tugged him forward.

When Shadow entered the room they had once used as a room for spare junk (with plenty of room to it), he barely recognized it; a chest full of soft, fluffy toys and tender plastic ones stood at the other end (a severely-overused teething ring sat on the floor next to a doll of Sonic with its ear missing), the walls were painted magenta with puppy-designs, and a large, comfy crib stood not five feet from him. Shadow quietly crept inside, Rouge right behind him.

"Look... she's waking up!" Rouge whispered, pointing at the crib.

Shadow looked over it, and now saw something small moving inside it. He went closer, peered in, and grinned wider than he had in his whole life when he saw a gray little diapered bat opening its tender, crimson eyes to look at its father.

"Da?" Luna cooed at Shadow, and smiled toothlessly.

Shadow felt his throat tighten, reached inside and gently lifted Luna up, who giggled. Shadow cradled Luna in his arms, gazing into Luna's eyes. He stroked back her short gray hair as Luna closed her whole tiny fist around one of Shadow's fingers. She cooed again when Rouge approached Shadow, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Amazing, isn't she?" Rouge whispered gently.

Shadow suddenly made a coughing sound, handed Luna to Rouge, and walked a few feet away. Rouge frowned slightly.

"Something wrong, Shad?" she asked gently.

Shadow, hoping Rouge didn't see, blinked away the moisture forming in his eyes. "Yeah... I'm fine" he said, his voice strained and nearly cracking.

Rouge sighed, and walked over to him, holding Luna in one arm while she wrapped the other around her husband. She nuzzled his black fur while Luna giggled and reached to feel her daddy's fur too (though far out of reach), and sighed again.

"Wanna know something?" Rouge asked, looking up at Shadow, who only grunted in reply.

"I bawled when I first held Luna" she told him. "Just like Luna was doing... I just couldn't believe I was a mother when I barely remembered _my_ mom... hell, I hadn't heard much of my sisters, either before the wedding. And you off in the war, having my own kid that was _your _kid too... it was like being married again, but with a third member of the family..."

Shadow slowly turned to face Rouge, a single tear running towards the soft smile he now wore. He took Luna in his arms again, still looking into Rouge's aqua eyes.

"Really?" he finally asked as Luna nibbled on his glove.

Rouge nodded, and sighed again. "Our own kid, huh?" she said softly. "Who'd have thought?"

Shadow shook his head, raised Luna in the air, and kissed his daughter on the forehead. Then he slowly carried her back to the crib, and handed her the Sonic doll (which Shadow hoped would lose its other ear by morning) and a bottle of milk Rouge had provided (making Shadow smirk to think of the source). They spent a little more time with their daughter, nuzzling her and making her laugh, and after an hour (and a spent diaper, producing the only other frown out of Shadow that evening), Luna fell asleep again. Shadow kissed her on the forehead again, they turned the light off, and left the room.

"I took her to the doctor's yesterday" Rouge began to say, "And they said she should grow up to be very healthy. In fact... she's probably going to live a lot longer than a normal Mobian."

"Why's that?" Shadow asked, but he had already guessed the answer.

"Well, the part of you that makes you immortal, Shadow, got mixed with my genes, and... well, the doctor said she might very well live to be two hundred years old, and healthy for most of that time" Rouge said softly.

Shadow couldn't fathom living that long, but Rouge bringing up his immortality reminded him he probably would; the fact that Shadow would have to outlive Rouge as far as age was something they rarely or never spoke of. The fact that they couldn't go together was too painful for both of them.

But Rouge cleared her throat, chuckled a little, and said; "Something else, isn't it?" Rouge said with a smile. "Having a 'little bundle of joy' of our own... just making her laugh is something, huh?"

"Yeah... she's our kid... half me, and half you" Shadow said thoughtfully, and smirked. "How can I not love her?"

Rouge grinned, and winked at him. "I think you've been getting softer being married to me... just like your fur..." She walked over to him and kissed Shadow on the lips. "...And your lips..."

Shadow chuckled in an evil-like, seductive manner, and stroked Rouge's cheek. She pressed up against Shadow's chest, and wrapped her wings around him.

"Ready to turn in, babe?" Shadow whispered, licking inside Rouge's ear, who closed her eyes and pressed tighter against him, running a hand up Shadow's leg.

"Whenever you are, stud" Rouge replied, then giggled and seductively ran her tongue over her lips.

Shadow's smirk widened, and then he hefted Rouge into his arms bridal style, and carried her into their bedroom. He then laid her down on the bed, and then pounced on top of her. Rouge giggled giddily, and pulled Shadow into a deep, passionate kiss, which he gladly returned with all his will. The two went at it with a fiery passion, their hands all over each other, trying to make up for the long, dreary nights they'd been forced to endure without each other. But then, the phone rang abruptly on Rouge's nightstand.

Shadow sighed, and gently bit down on Rouge's neck, still smirking.

"Just hold on one second, okay?" he whispered, reached over, and picked up the phone.

"Yeah, who is it?!" Shadow growled while Rouge scooted up closer to him, teasingly dabbing his neck with her tongue.

"Shadow? Hi, I had a question for Rouge..." Sonic's voice said over the other end. "Can I talk to her?"

"Ask me, and I'll ask her for you, and make it quick!" Shadow said irritably. "We're really busy right now."

"Right, uh... yeah, would Rouge like to be one of Amy's bridesmaids?" Sonic asked.

Shadow hesitated a moment, and then turned to Rouge.

"Would you like to be a bridesmaid at Sonic and Amy's wedding?" Shadow asked her dully.

Rouge shrugged. "Sure, whatever" she said, running a hand up and down Shadow's leg.

"Yeah, she'd love to" Shadow replied, making a mocking bored expression, inclining his eyes towards the phone, making Rouge smirk.

"Alright... Amy would also like, er... would it be alright if Rouge dressed nicely, but not _too _nicely?" Sonic asked hesitantly.

Shadow frowned. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, y'know..." Sonic sounded no more than 1 sure of what he was talking about, "She can wear a nice dress, a bit of makeup, all that stuff, but no _real _fancy makeup, like golden mascara. Also, no overkill on jewelry; Amy wants all the attention tonight.

Shadow sighed. "Okay. No fancy makeup, no more than a few rings. Okay. BYE" and he hung up.

"What was that about?" Rouge asked, climbing onto Shadow with her eyes seductively half-lidded.

"Sonic just doesn't want you to dress too fancily at their wedding, that's all" Shadow said softly, and his evil smirk came upon his face again as his hand stroked down Rouge's back to rest on her bottom.

"Now... where were we?" Shadow whispered into her ear, went back on top of Rouge, kissing her intensely.

Rouge moaned softly, swirling her tongue around with Shadow's in a fiery dance that burned from within her.

"Shadow... baby..." Rouge breathed, and gently bit onto Shadow's neck, eliciting a growl out of him. Then she suckled gently, making Shadow purr loudly into her ear, and then bite it.

"Mm... kinky tonight?" Rouge whispered heavily, gripping Shadow's chest fur and gazing deeply into Shadow's powerful eyes.

"Hell yes..." Shadow replied, and then licked Rouge's neck, biting it and kissing it, slowly moving downwards while Rouge moaned softly. Then, Shadow chuckled sinisterly when he reached her ample cleavage that he had looked forward to tasting for so long. He stuck his tongue between them, licking up every inch of warm flesh he could taste. Rouge's moans slowly grew a little louder, and she now leaned against the bedpost, closing her eyes. Finally, Shadow reached into Rouge's shirt, gently squeezed the right breast, and lifted it up and out, followed by the left one.

"Damn, they've gotten bigger..." Shadow whispered, and not being able to restrain himself any longer, latched his mouth onto a nipple, suckling hard. Rouge gasped, and moaned louder than before, stroking Shadow's magnificent black and crimson quills. Shadow took the other breast in his hand, and squeezed it, pinching the nipple and tugging on it, drawing a few drops of Rouge's breast milk, eliciting a loud moan from her. Shadow continued to work on her breasts, squeezing them constantly, biting them gently, licking the nipples, enjoying them to his full extent.

"Mm... Shadow..." Rouge whispered when Shadow finished lapping up a few more drops of her milk. "You like the taste of that?"

Shadow smirked at her. "I can understand why Luna would be addicted to it..." he whispered, lapping at a nipple one last time.

Rouge giggled again, and sighed deeply in a relaxed manner, letting Shadow help himself.

"Shadow?" she whispered gently.

"Yes?" Shadow replied, stroking back Rouge's large ears soothingly. Her aqua eyes never wavered as they looked into his crimson, as they peered into each other's souls that they had come to know as well as their own. They suddenly held each other very closely, very tenderly...

"I love you so much Shadow..." Rouge said in a voice so firm and passionate that it couldn't have been more truthful from the mouth of an honest-to-God clone of George Washington. "So... so much... I'd die for you... I'd have nothing without you..."

Shadow was silent for a moment, and then smiled gently. "I love you too, Rouge... you gave my life meaning again... but know this; even if you lose me, you'll still have Luna and maybe another few children..."

"Shadow, don't say that..." Rouge said, wrapping her fingers into Shadow's fur with a face so full of passion she looked close to tears, and she gave a watery chuckle. "It sounds like you're already planning to leave again..."

"Rouge, you can't go obsessing over just one person you care about..." Shadow said seriously. "If one of us goes before the other, Luna will need whoever's left. Look what happened when Maria died; I don't want you to suffer like I have, Rouge. You have others who care about you and a daughter; you have a luxury I didn't have back on the ARK..." Shadow looked away, saying nothing, and sighed after a moment.

"Ah, don't worry about it... neither of us are going any-" he was cut off as Rouge pulled him back onto her lips in an explosive kiss, catching Shadow by surprise. But slowly, he melted into it again...

Soon after, Rouge removed his gloves as they were still locked in a passionate kiss, and then his shoes. She squeezed and rubbed his muscles, giggling at how lean and solid and tight they were. Shadow growled and purred as she rubbed his body all over in a massage-like style, licking his abs and his pectorals, firmly squeezing his biceps. Finally, Shadow could take no more, and pressed down back on top of her, the feeling of her breasts squeezed up against his chest almost too much to take. He suckled on her neck, producing loud moans from her while his hand wandered down to the hem of her pants...

Slowly, Shadow tightened his fingers around it, and pulled them down to reveal a pair of hot-pink satin panties. Shadow chuckled sinisterly as he gazed upon them, and slowly ran a hand up Rouge's smooth, tan, heavenly-sexy leg, letting his fingers press against the soft, warm flesh. Rouge moaned inwardly, leaning back and anticipating what Shadow would do to her next...

Suddenly, she felt his hand travel past her leg, up along her panties, and onto her bottom, where it rested. Rouge suddenly gasped in surprise when she felt a sudden sharp squeeze to her left butt-cheek. She giggled again, moaning softly as Shadow's hand grazed along her bottom, pinching it here and there playfully. Then, Shadow slowly slid the pink panties down her legs, his smirk slowly widening as Rouge's womanhood came into clear view, glistening with her feminine nectar. Shadow leaned in towards it, glanced once into Rouge's eager, impatient, aqua eyes. Then, his tongue extended, he made contact with her womanhood, and lapped eagerly at the sweet juices that reminded Shadow of her lips and how tender their love was... how hot it was... passionate...

Rouge moaned sharply and clutched at the sheets, her legs twitching slightly, the pleasure within her increasing sharply, unbelievably overwhelming... and the man she loved more than she ever could giving it to her, what she had desired and lusted for months. Rouge continued to stroke Shadow's quills, and grasped his strong shoulders for leverage to withstand the pleasure. Shadow snickered, and stroked her womanhood with his finger, and brought some of the juices to his mouth.

"Mm... just as hot as the rest of you" he teased with an evil, seductive smile. "Mind if I try something new now?"

Rouge chuckled weakly at that, breathing heavily. "Like what?" she whispered.

Shadow kissed her cheek. "Just trust me..." he said playfully, and kissed her forehead. Rouge nodded reluctantly, and closed her eyes, giving herself to Shadow's touch again. The ebony hedgehog then slowly turned Rouge over to lay on her stomach, and she relaxed her head on a pillow, wondering what Shadow was going to do, feeling his hand graze her bottom, gently at first and then firmly.

Her question was answered when she felt something long, hot, and throbbing make its way into her bottom, emitting a loud gasp and soft scream of pleasure from Rouge. Then, Shadow began thrusting within her, and Rouge felt a small amount of pain from it that only added to the passion and pleasure of it all. She continued to gasp and moan loudly at this new experience, and she now felt her womanhood nearing its limit of pleasure, and she could feel her climax building within her. Finally, Rouge couldn't hold it in any longer, and her womanhood suddenly spasmed uncontrollably. She screamed loudly and pleasure, her juices now running thickly down her legs. Shadow suddenly growled loudly, and grunted, and Rouge felt his manhood suddenly climax within her anal area, and she moaned louder and screamed at the top of her lungs, unable to fully perceive the pleasure she felt. Then Rouge collapsed, her legs faint and weak, her breathing heavy. Shadow crawled up so they were face to face, smiling gently, and he kissed her forehead.

"Enjoyable?" he whispered into her ear, and received only a sleepy nod. Rouge cuddled up to him, smiling dreamily as they held each other. Rouge rested awhile longer, recovering from the weakness of her legs, and finally opened her eyes and gazed into Shadow's.

"You're not done yet, are you?" she whispered cunningly, and suddenly sat up, her eyes still locked with Shadow's. The hedgehog raised an eyebrow in mock curiosity. Rouge quickly locked her lips against his again, chuckling slightly. Then Rouge turned Shadow over, climbed onto his stomach, and looked deep into Shadow's eyes again. She stroked his strong chest, kissed it, and then cast a sly smirk at Shadow before lowering her head to Shadow's fully extended manhood, and licked it. Shadow gasped sharply, growled, and then relaxed and leaned back, chuckling evilly at what he knew was coming next.

Rouge then swirled her tongue all around his manhood, massaging it delicately with her fingers. Then she put it into her mouth, and slowly inserted most of its length, suckling and licking its strong, stern warmth. Shadow began to gasp and growl louder, groaning slightly, feeling Rouge's tongue send him greatly anticipated pleasure, and it slowly grew as a climatic point of pleasure began to build within him. He growled and grunted like a wild beast, until he climaxed within Rouge's mouth, who made sure to lick up the savory fluid.

And the night continued on, and so did the love making the two wanted to share after being separated for so long...

* * *

Three Hours Later

* * *

The two of them were now utterly exhausted, yet couldn't recall ever feeling better in their whole lives. Shadow cradled Rouge closely with his arms while she nestled her head against his strong chest, casually fingering his white chest fur. Rouge sighed elatedly, and nuzzled Shadow's chest again, and giggled softly.

"Mm... I almost forgot what that was like..." she whispered, and smiled sleepily up at Shadow, who returned it with a tired grin.

"Damn good to be back..." Shadow said softly, and stroked Rouge's cheek. "I missed you so much..."

Rouge's smile widened at that. "Tell me you love me, hot stuff" she whispered.

Shadow chuckled and rested a hand on the back of her head, and another on her cheek. "I love you, Rouge... more than anything in this or any universe... and I promise you that I always will."

Rouge giggled at that, and readjusted herself so her head was level with Shadow's. "I love you too, Shad" she said matter-of-factly. "And to tell the truth, I think I always have."

Shadow smirked at her, and then they kissed gently, but the heat of passion was still present within the tenderness of their lips. Finally, when the kiss ended, they fell asleep simultaneously, too much at peace to endure being awake any longer, for now.

* * *

G.U.N. Headquarters, fifteen minutes ago

* * *

The commander of G.U.N. now sat in the central control room with Admiral Atmos on his right, and Colonel-major Jackson on his left. He rubbed his temples stressfully... he felt stupid, incompetent, and above all, down-right _pissed_.

_How _had the air-base been wiped out? _Who _wiped it out? _How _did they manage to completely cut them off from contact and leave no survivors to report back? And _why? _Dr. Eggman experimenting with some kind of new weapon? The commander prayed more than anything it wasn't; a weapon with that kind of capability would most likely cost them the war altogether. But if it wasn't Eggman, then who had that kind of power? The commander couldn't even consider it; they had their hands too full with Eggman alone. They couldn't fight _two _enemies at once, let alone if they might be on the same side. The commander needed to send a team of agents there that could handle themselves fine; he didn't want to risk sending in a ship that would be destroyed almost immediately, and even if he was brash enough to do so, most ships were preoccupied with defending G.U.N.-controlled airspace, and their numbers were barely enough to let the commander sleep for more than a few hours at night. He'd call Agent Shadow and Rouge in the morning and send Omega with them at the sight; they'd never failed a mission before.

Colonel Jackson went over the reports they'd received and sighed again while Admiral Atmos paced the room, looking at what the naval officers were working on. "Sir, not even a nuke would have been able to destroy the base _this _utterly" Jackson said. "Atmos's satellite images show only a big, black, barren spot; no structures left standing or anything. It's almost as if something just... burned it off the map."

The commander faced him. "Perhaps some sort of all-new mass-flame-based weapon? It seems possible... but no. The metal we use to build our bases can stand temperatures over lava temperature for over eight days; there's no kind of earthly fire capable of leaving nothing but charred earth behind."

"Maybe it's a weapon using Black Arms technology" Jackson proposed, but Atmos scoffed.

"Their weapons were solely based off poison, symbiotic, and plasma and laser forms, Colonel" he said. "If they'd had weapons like that in our last war with them, I'm certain we'd have seen it. Like when they were trapped in the forest and cut off, or when attacking useless cities, or wiping out our heavily-defended lines."

The commander nodded, and sighed. "Nonetheless, we'll be needing a lot more information before we can pass any more judgment on this matter" he admitted, and Jackson gave a curt nod in agreement.

"I can't help but wonder, though..." Jackson said thoughtfully, "What's in store for us next?"

The commander sighed again and shook his head. "War is full of surprises, colonel" he said with a humorless smile. "But I think we all know that it's about to get a hell of a lot more hairy than it is now."

* * *

The Next Day...

Shadow's ear twitched as he woke up from a confusing dream... it had been so odd; mostly just dark shapes on the border of perception, and a slight feeling of dread, but he didn't know of what... and it had ended with something that sounded like malicious laughter, and then cool, refreshing reassurance... like being at the top of a mountain without the bitter frost and wind. He had a feeling of cloudiness through the whole dream, like he was sedated or something, and was somewhat surprised to find it very sunny outside the window.

Then Shadow heard soft breathing, and smiled relaxingly when he saw Rouge's head nestled on his chest, her warm body on top of his, her soft, velvety skin pressed against him... Shadow inhaled her feminine aroma, and breathed out again, feeling his mind go to its lazy sanctuary when he was this close to her. Oh, how he loved her... he never thought he could love somebody quite that much, in fact... but as the years had gone by, Shadow's love for Rouge had grown immeasurable, and he was certain there was nothing that could do anything to mar it. What gave Shadow even greater joy than his feelings for her, however, was knowing Rouge loved _him_ just as much as he did her. And then she began to stir, cooing softly in her relaxed sleep. Shadow stroked her ears and her cheeks, and chuckled as Rouge began to wake up. She opened her big, beautiful aqua eyes to look at Shadow, and she smiled flirtingly.

"Morning, handsome" she teased, and gently kissed Shadow on the lips, which he tenderly returned.

They soon got out of bed, got dressed, and spent their first morning together with Luna; they put her in a very plushy, comfortable high-chair where Luna laughed loudly and banged her plastic spoon on the table. Shadow chuckled at her, making funny sounds that made Luna squeal and say "Da! Da!" repeatedly. Rouge was so distracted with her as well, she almost burned the eggs she was making, along with the pancakes and coffee Shadow was preparing. Rouge opened a jar of baby food for Luna, which she ate about half of, and then shoved it off her high chair to smash onto the floor.

Shadow and Rouge looked at each other, then at the mess, then at Luna (who was laughing and clapping at the mess), then at each other again, and burst out laughing. Shadow quickly proceeded to clean up Luna's mess while Rouge put their breakfast on separate plates. She glanced over at Shadow's bent over form as he cleaned up the mess, smirked to herself, and slapped Shadow's behind, causing him to yelp.

Luna laughed again and cried out "Ma heh da! Ma heh da!" (Mom hit dad). And the rest of breakfast pretty much proceeded in a similar manner.

Shadow couldn't have been happier to be with Rouge again, nor to be with his first daughter for the first time. And Rouge was now beginning to feel what her mother must have gone through; responsibility for more than just herself. Still, the maternal-ness was going to take some getting used to; for her and Shadow. And Luna was finally getting to know someone besides her mom, and was starting to love him just as much.

Rouge glanced at a nearby clock as she put their dishes into the sink, seeing it was now almost eleven o'clock. Shadow was scanning over a newspaper with the headline reading "SONIC AND HEROES DRIVE OFF EGGMAN" on the front. Rouge felt a small bit of respite for not being able to be one of those heroes, and chuckled lightly to herself, thinking it was so typical of herself to be a glory-hog. She ran hot water on the messy plates, scrubbed a little, and decided to let the dishes sit awhile and joined Luna, trying to feed her a little more baby food. After a few bites had been taken, Rouge cleaned Luna's face and bib, and they carried her into the living room. Rouge sat Luna in front of the television and switched the channel to PBS kids, which induced a groan from Shadow.

"Rouge, must we watch this insolent, inferior-minded garbage?" he muttered, now reading the sports section of the paper. "Really, the people on here have the minds of two-year olds..."

"Shadow, it's _educational_" Rouge said with a now customary roll of her eyes. "Studies show that these shows help develop kids' minds at an early age."

"Still..." Shadow muttered, and tried to tune out the _Teletubbies _as best he could by reading about how the Red Sox and the Cubs were meeting in the World Series in a couple of days (OMG).

After a couple of hours had passed (and Shadow and Rouge had each changed one diaper), Rouge was breast-feeding Luna, which for some reason, embarrassed Shadow a little. Why? Perhaps it was because he had developed a sort of mentality that only _he _could see Rouge's seductive, natural gift. Shadow tossed the newspaper aside, having read it all, and glanced over at Rouge.

"Mind if I change the channel to something higher-strung?" he asked.

"Sure, but change it back when I'm done here" Rouge replied, but Shadow had changed the channel before she'd even finished her reply. Now Shadow relaxed in his black-leather chair as he watched a series of brutal hockey replays on ESPN.

Suddenly, Rouge's communicator went off, which surprised her; only G.U.N. Agents and officers could contact it, and she hadn't heard it go off since she was first pregnant. Shadow turned the TV off and answered it for her while Luna continued to feed.

"Agent Shadow here" he answered.

"Shadow? Just as well... listen, I'm sorry to bother you, but we need you and Agent Rouge at headquarters as soon as you can. Now, if its convenient" The voice belonged Colonel Jackson.

Shadow glanced questioningly at Rouge, who shrugged. "We'll need a sitter" she told him. Shadow sighed.

"Certainly, sir" he told Jackson. "We'll be there ASAP." And the ebony hedgehog closed the link.

Rouge let Luna finish feeding, and cradled her as she now napped in her arms. She and Shadow sat in silence a long time before she finally broke it.

"Ask Silver and Blaze if they can baby sit" she suggested. "They got nothing better to do tonight, right?"

"I'd rather hire a professional" Shadow said darkly, and huffed irritably.

Rouge sighed. "Shadow, I know this sucks, but... we have to go, Jackson sounded like it was urgent."

"Yes... it's our duty" Shadow replied. "But that doesn't change the fact that I just got back from a goddamn mission! Now they're sending us on another one?!"

Rouge walked over to Shadow, handed him Luna, and smiled at him.

"At least we get to work together again, eh... ally?" she said with a giggle, and Shadow couldn't help but smile as well at the word he'd once emphasized.

"Yeah... that beats the hell out of solo work" he admitted. Rouge chuckled at him for that.

"You really are changing, Shad" she said. "If you'd said that two years ago, I would've had a stroke!"

"Shut up" Shadow said teasingly.

Rouge giggled again, and kissed him on the cheek. "You gonna call a sitter or not?" she asked with mock impatience.

"I'm calling, I'm calling! Hold your freakin' horses!" Shadow said, handed Luna back to Rouge, and went for the phone.


	5. Darkness Deepens

Chapter Eight: Evil's Wrath, Darkness's Mercy

**Chapter Four: Darkness Deepens**

Shadow and Rouge sat with a large group of agents in the central auditorium of G.U.N. Headquarters, glancing all around them. The room was abuzz with murmured conversations all around them, most agents looking just as confused as they felt. Shadow leaned back in his cushioned leather chair; his arms folded, and sighed. He'd gotten a baby sitter before they'd left, and had paid the person (being about thirty years old and looking like a typical nanny) twenty five dollars in advance, and thirty more once they got back, but she was supposed to be one of the best for hire, and Shadow and Rouge had ridiculous salaries, so he didn't complain. Rouge rapped her fingers on the arm rest next to her, staring ahead at where several G.U.N. officers of fairly high ranking sat in neat, organized rows, and continued to await the officer who'd brief them all.

Finally, General Catherine entered the room, dressed neatly in the standard gray uniform of those on the command staff with her rank badges displayed across her chest. She looked them all over, and cleared her throat to announce.

"Attention!" she barked, and everyone in the room stood up, straight and rigidly, as the G.U.N. High Commander himself entered the room. He nodded at General Catherine, who took a seat in a smaller ring of officers, who were the command staff (Colonel Jackson, General Audi, and Admiral Atmos were there. Vice-Admiral Zackary's seat and Sub-Commander Elaine's seats were empty). They all looked exhausted and haggard, which didn't surprise Shadow; this war was taking its toll on everyone.

The Commander nodded at the agents. "At ease. Please be seated" he told them, and the agents sat down as one. Shadow and Rouge shared a glance; the commander only briefed top-priority missions that only the best of them would be undertaking. But they smiled knowing for certain they'd be chosen.

"Good to see the nearest agents not engaged with the enemy could make it here" the commander replied. "It was safest to tell you all this personally, lest Eggman hear what we're discussing. I'll be sending teams of you to dispatch the news to other major bases to deliver this news as well, but first off, here's what's happened." The commander cleared his throat, sighed and spoke again.

"Last night, our southwestern 17098 Airbase was attacked and annihilated... completely." He made a gesture to an officer behind him, who hit a series of keys on his computer, and a large, satellite image of a big, blackened spot arose on the screen. Nothing could be seen as far as remains of structures or anything... there wasn't even much smoke. The agents broke into uncomfortable murmurs at the sight.

Shadow and Rouge exchanged a glance; the only weapons of that kind of magnitude were nukes, the ARK's Eclipse Cannon, or a barrage from the type of _Norris _class cannons mounted on G.U.N. destroyers or the _Mecha-10 _rounds from Eggman's assault carriers... only there would've been more rubble had a ship destroyed it, and the remains would've appeared less blackened and more recognizable had it been a nuke... in fact, judging by the change of landscape, it looked like the result of a biological weapon. Shadow slowly raised his hand.

"Yes, Agent Shadow?" the commander addressed, and all eyes turned to Shadow as he stood up. "You have something you'd like to say about this?"

"Well sir, I was only wondering... the most likely modern weapon today that could've caused this is probably a nuke, sir... was any nuclear charge or radiation detected from our long-range scanners?" Shadow asked.

The commander shook his head. "No... Radiation of nuclear types hasn't been detected, but we do detect something there... nothing lethal within the immediate atmosphere, anyway, but something... we don't know what." He sighed, and looked at the floor before looking at every agent in turn. "That's why I called you all here. I'm assigning a team of you to investigate the remains of the base and see what you can turn up. You'll have to be careful... whatever or whoever did this might strike again, and you'll need to be ready for them. Everyone else, I'm breaking you into teams if you don't already have one, and you'll all be trying to locate Eggman's main base of operations. We have to end this war as quickly as possible before he does something like this again, or if he didn't do it, we need to focus on whoever it was that did do it. You'll all be given information on what we already know of Eggman, and then you'll be deployed to search for information of it. You won't be withdrawn until it's found, I'm afraid, so support will be limited, but we'll give it when we can. Once you do, radio in on this aerial code-" The commander raised his hand, and the image cleared to show the number: 999076344211867. Then he continued as the agents all copied it down on their portable data-pads (on their wrist-communicators).

"Once you enter the code, you'll be linked to the nearest G.U.N. ship. Tell them you've located Eggman's headquarters, and then all of our ships within a five hundred mile radius of that ship will rally and gather more ships, as many nearby troops as possible, and launch an assault against it. Once we take it down, Eggman will have no choice but to back off, and all of you agents in the fight will be tasked with infiltrating the base and capturing him, alive."

All the agents exchanged excited glances; this was a dangerous move, assigning almost every agent in the organization to one task when they'd be needed on more than one front to do other tasks, but if it worked quickly enough, it would pay off. And it likely would be done quickly, too; only about fourteen percent of the entire agent organization had had the task of searching for Eggman's main base, but now that they had everyone, there was little chance he'd stay hidden for more than a few months, regardless of the doctor's cloaking technology.

The commander was silent for a moment, allowing the words to sink in, before speaking up again. "Now, agent team 'Dark' will be assigned to investigating what happened at the airbase before joining everyone else in the search" he said. "Everyone else, report to your assigned stations, start your work, and prepare to set out. Good luck to you all. Shadow, Rouge, head to the airport; they got a chopper ready for you there."

Everyone got out of their seats, including the officers, and filed out of the room (after saluting the commander as he left). Quickly elbowing some agents aside, Rouge walked at a fast pace in front of Shadow as they hurried to the airport the headquarters had above. Shadow quickly amended his pace, however, and they were now walking side-by-side. The entire base was abuzz with the sound of busy G.U.N. officers going to and fro about their work, as it usually was, but more so than usual now.

"Well, might as well call the babysitter and negotiate a longer-term job for her" Rouge said with a sigh.

Shadow sighed as well, accessed his communicator, and called their house.

Night Babylon, downtown adult-night club

This particular night club, named the _Hunter's Poison,_ was something of a pig-pen, but for particularly rich pigs only. When one entered, the first thing they'd usually comment on was the consistency of neon-lights and how dark the place was save for their green/purple/yellow/turquoise glows and a ton of black-lights lighting up anything white or close to it. But regulars/members almost always went to where the strippers, dressed primarily in white clothes only so as to make them glow around the dimly-lit poles. They served almost every kind of beverage imaginable, and nobody who ran the place cared how drunk someone got or if any fights broke out, so long as employees weren't harmed; this place paid good money to keep out of the authority's sight, and it was only a fraction of the money the place made. The thing that made it particularly attractive to outlaws and wretches was the fact that, if you paid enough money, the strippers could take on temporary professions as prostitutes.

One of the biggest and most dangerous regulars here was Mauve the Bat, and he'd gotten quite a few new luxuries and "friends" with the money he'd been making recently. Anyone who crossed him there, drunk or no, usually wound up dead. And if not dead, then missing, and when returned, had to be identified through DNA samples. At this particular time, Mauve was making good on his profits.

At the time, he was sitting in a private area that well-paying members had to pay about 30 an hour for alone time there (Mauve usually paid about 120 each time) with his favorite stripper at _Hunter's Poison_. She was dressed only in her undergarments and high-heeled boots right now, and though roughly almost twice as tall as him, she still found him attractive, and was willing to please for the 1000 he had tempted her with. The room they were in was lit only by a single, green neon light above them, and the woman's clothes were illuminated by the black lights that lit up her remaining clothes as she leaned towards Mauve.

"Are we getting it on or what?" Mauve whispered with a sinister chuckle as he ran his hands over her body without so much as a second thought of how dishonorable he was being. "Your body's making me impatient, hot stuff..."

She giggled a little and kissed Mauve while removing his jacket (heavy from concealing his multiple grenades, explosives, knives, his foldable katana, his ninja stars, and other deadly items). Mauve returned the kiss with a sinister chuckle, and began to remove the stripper's bra, greedily groping for the breasts he made no secret of staring at. He suckled gently on her skin and pressed his body against hers, suddenly feeling quite happy about having such a well-paying employer.

Mauve drew his head back while the woman stroked his chest and took his shirt off. "Hey, babe, I could use a massage on my back... could you go to work on it for me?" he asked with the air of one talking to somebody inferior to them, but the woman just giggled again as if she didn't notice.

"Certainly" she said with a wink, and as Mauve lay down on the provided bed, she began her work rubbing into his back and soothing its aches. The wicked bat chuckled and closed his eyes, moaning softly. "Damn you're good..." he mumbled. "Her, hey, rub the lower middle part..." He chuckled softly as the fingers did their work.

Suddenly, however, the feeling stopped, and Mauve heard a slight rasping behind him. He frowned in confusion. "Babe, what's the holdup?" he asked impatiently. Then he felt something warm dripping on him, and suddenly irritated at the lack of pleasure, sat up and turned around. "Hey! Dumb bitch! When I pay you... to..." and his sentence died away when he saw that the warm liquid that had dripped on him was the woman's blood where two, stainless blades protruded from her chest. She gasped her last breath, the blades were withdrawn, and her body slumped to the ground. Mauve looked up to see two red, narrow red eyes glaring at him, and the bat rolled his eyes.

"What is it now, Shade?" he muttered. "Can't you see I'm actually trying to enjoy myself for once?"

"Don't test me, bat" Shade's voice growled. "Wretched vermin like yourself paying for this pleasure honestly don't deserve to have it bestowed upon them, but no matter. The master has another series of jobs for you... and once you're done, you'll be wealthy beyond your death and your wildest dreams, and he'll be done with you."

Mauve almost groaned at the idea of working a long time for his employer again with little to no time to enjoy his pay, but the idea that he'd be extremely rich for the rest of his natural life and would never have to worry about these kind of interruptions intrigued him. The bat nodded slowly, and moved to put his shirt and jacket back on.

"Let's go somewhere less public and talk turkey" Mauve said, and followed Shade out the door, the body of the woman cruelly forgotten and uncared for.

G.U.N. Helicopter. En route to destroyed airbase

Shadow stared out the window while Rouge examined a data pad that was specifically meant to record and analyze data. Omega sat there in an even more quiet state than the rest of his team, his eyes constantly gazing around the compartment.

"Shadow... do you think Eggman did this?" Rouge asked, finally facing her husband, who shook his head.

"No... whoever did this has more resources to do this, and whatever weapon it was, it's obviously more expendable than anything like a nuke or a blast from the Eclipse Cannon" Shadow muttered, his chin in his hand while his fingers unconsciously stroked his face. "If Eggman had done this, he would've used this against a more powerful base, maybe even the headquarters itself, or Central City."

"Yeah, but wasn't the base being reinforced to assault his stronger bases to root out his stronghold?" Rouge said. "Maybe Eggman decided to annihilate it and intimidate us out of attacking him.

"Maybe, but that was an unspoken plan; the reinforcements we sent there could've looked like we were just compensating for the casualties we'd lost earlier" Shadow replied, and Rouge had to agree with him; even Eggman was smart enough to use something like this in a more logical way.

"HYPOTHOSIS: PERHAPS IT WAS AN ACCIDENT ON EGGMAN'S PART" Omega stated. "PERHAPS A WEAPON HE INTENDED ELSEWHERE DESTROYED THE BASE."

"Well, it was a hell of a lucky accident then" Shadow muttered. Rouge frowned slightly and peered at him, sensing some anger in his tone.

"Shadow? Something nagging at you?" she asked while leaning back into her cushioned seat. When Shadow didn't answer, she simply asked; "What do _you _think did this?"

Shadow's stare out the window turned into a glare before he answered; "You want my opinion? Mephiles and his cronies are behind it."

Rouge was about to go against that, tell Shadow that Kaynyx had killed Mephiles when he'd sacrificed himself and got Mephiles blown up, but she wasn't so sure. Mephiles the Dark was a tough adversary to defeat, let alone kill, which they'd never accomplished as far as they knew. Every time they hit the bastard hard enough to take down anyone else, he'd just rise up again. Quickly, though, Rouge tried to persuade Shadow otherwise.

"Shad, look; if it was Mephiles who'd done this, don't you think we'd have a bit more of a lead?" Rouge said. "I mean, he's been gone for over a year now. He'd have shown himself by now..."

"No" Shadow replied simply. "Mephiles, assuming he's out there, is probably biding his time while G.U.N. and Eggman weaken each other before playing his hand. I mean, he can't possibly have a huge army; after the Aero Fortress was blown up, I'd be surprised if he had more than a few dozen guards left. He's plotting something... doing something to even the odds... and whatever it is probably did this."

"Shadow, you're jumping to conclusions!" Rouge said exasperatedly. "We'll have no idea who did this until we can get down there and investigate it ourselves. Maybe Eggman did it, maybe Mephiles did it, maybe some dumb ass with a big bomb hit the wrong button, but we won't know until we're down there."

Shadow's mouth split into a smirk, and he sighed and nodded. "Yes... I suppose you're right" he admitted, and leaned back in his chair. Suddenly, the speaker above them crackled with the pilot's voice.

"Attention; we're within visual range of the base's remains" he said. "Shall I drop you off here or will you go on your own?"

Shadow reached for the red Chaos Emerald he always carried with him, knowing the pilot couldn't risk flying any closer without going in harm's way, assuming whatever caused the destruction was still ready to strike. "We'll go on our own. Just pull back a bit, but stay within comm. range, okay?"

"Affirmative. Out" the pilot said, and the intercom closed.

Rouge and Omega got out of their seats and now stood by Shadow, who nodded and raised the Chaos Emerald above his head. The red stone began to glow dimly from within. Shadow summoned forth the familiar energy and felt a small spike of excitement within his adrenaline system.

"Chaos... CONTROL!" he shouted, and the three of them vanished in a flash of red light. Then they reappeared about half a mile away on the ground, and now the base was easily within walking distance. The three of them jogged at a steady pace until they were finally able to get a good look at the remains of what was once a mighty base...

The superstructures of most buildings looked almost melted to the point of collapsing like an ancient page of a book about ready to crumble to dust. The ground was hard and dry, and looked almost desert-like. Shards of boiled glass were littered amongst the black-scorched ground that covered a large portion of the base. Scraps of metal practically coated everything, and some small fires still choked where they assumed some fuel containers had detonated.

Shadow shook his head and sighed. "Well, let's collect some samples of this soil... and everybody be on guard" he said, and the team nodded in unison. Rouge activated her datapad, and kneeled down to scoop up some dirt along with some glass fragments. She scanned them over, searching for anything that might give them a clue as to what did this. The datapad sampled the multiple components on the glass and dirt and compared what it found to everything on file faster than Rouge could comprehend. Finally, a few remote matches showed up...

"Shadow?" Rouge said, standing up and getting the hedgehog's attention. His red eyes went to the datapad before meeting Rouge's.

"What's the sit-rep?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest as Omega continued analyzing other areas with his own processor.

Rouge shrugged. "Well, to be honest... I've never seen anything like it" she said, and walked up to Shadow so he could see the datapad himself... and what he saw troubled him.

There was a type of radiation, but it wasn't nuclear or anything he'd ever seen before either. The damage caused by it was similar to magnesium-related weaponry such as high-heat sabot rounds, but more intense and it didn't match magnesium's chemistry. And nothing like it could've caused this much destruction unless released in a deadly bombardment, but all signs pointed to a single blast on the scale of nothing less than a nuke, but the chemistry of the weapon was nothing like it. Also, during the entire war with Eggman, they'd captured and studied just about every weapon he'd ever used on them... and this was nothing even remotely like any of them. There was really no way to determine what sort of thing did this...

Shadow heaved a sigh, and looked at Rouge. "Keep searching" he told her. "For anything that may have survived whatever did this... a computer, security camera, whatever. There's gotta be something..."

Rouge nodded, and they spread out across the base, looking for anything evenly remotely intact that might tell them more about what happened. Omega adjusted his vision to scan for any active energy, even if it was half-dead or otherwise remote. Rouge used her powerful wings to push herself off the ground and glide a few meters above the ground, using her scanner to detect metal from the ground while Shadow walked beneath her, his eyes taking in everything he saw...

"There!" Rouge shouted, and landed and ran over to one of the remaining bits of superstructure, Shadow right behind her. The black hedgehog looked where Rouge was looking, and was nearly baffled to see a camera in the corner, only slightly burned in some areas and the lens melted a little.

Amazingly, the completely obliterated walls and structure around it had barely managed to save it from destruction. And equally amazingly, it would help tremendously if it had captured the right footage or sounds.

Rouge plucked the camera from the wall, and brought it over to Shadow and Omega. She turned to face the E-123 model. "Omega, see what you can do with this... it might be just what we were looking for."

Omega gave a curt nod, and took the camera from Rouge. He activated a tool on his arm to cleanly slice into the camera while Shadow watched with crossed arms. Omega then plugged into the camera, and began processing all data in there, occasionally pausing to mend some corrupted data, or throw out that which he couldn't repair.

"Completed" Omega finally stated, just as the other two were getting impatient. They eagerly went over to see what Omega had turned up.

"Beginning playback" he stated in his monotone voice, and a hologram projector emerged from his right arm. A small image appeared of the security room the camera had been in. It was weaving this way and that, and the sounds of absolute chaos were heard. Shadow and Rouge exchanged a glance, but turned their attention back to the image. Suddenly, an officer fell in the way, and static briefly washed over it, and it swerved to view...

Shadow's eyes widened and he peered closer for a better look, and Rouge did too, wondering what he'd noticed about what appeared to be a big, black blob...

"Watch for its eyes..." Shadow whispered. Rouge nodded, still watching, and gasped and took a reflexive step back...

The eyes on that thing... whatever it was, were exactly like Mephiles' eyes.

Shadow's customary frown hardened into a glare at the thing that hulked past the camera, destroying some nearby soldiers, and some far-off explosions were heard, there was a wash of flame, and the footage ended.

Rouge looked to Shadow. "Well, I'd say we definitely found what we were looking for" she said with a weak chuckle.

Shadow merely nodded, and folded his arms over his chest again. "Omega, do you have that copied and secured into your data banks?" he asked the E-102 model.

"Affirmative" Omega said, withdrawing his hologram broadcasting tool.

The three of them immediately started jogging back away from the center of the base, and Rouge accessed her comm. to the ship.

"Pilot, the area is secure. We need evac back to G.U.N. H.Q. ASAP" Rouge said. She closed the link right after the pilot acknowledged, and turned to Shadow. "We're out of here" she said, and already the helicopter could be seen heading toward them.

"Now..." Shadow said softly, just enough so his team could hear; "We need to end this war with Eggman quickly and turn our strength to face... whatever that thing was" he told them.

Unknown underground Settlement, 20 minutes after Team Dark's evac. Unknown area entirely.

Here, almost half a mile under the earth and thirty clicks northeast of Westopolis, was probably the most difficult place in the galaxy to find, aside from Eggman's fortress. It was heavily fortified with automated defenses and patrolled and secured by a couple hundred Black Arms aliens, and the Metarex survivors from what was once an invincible armada. But still, the promises of glory kept them going, if morale was barely above minimum, at least there they were safe from Eggman and G.U.N. Shade and Mauve the Bat were quite promising warriors, and provided them all with a measure of hope that things would improve. Shade had related with them, knowing how terrible being lost and confused could be. He'd kept them together, never letting them doubt Mephiles' leadership.

Even when he disappeared.

Dr. Ovator had even created the security defenses to the extent of possibility and competence; only Eggman himself with all his resources could've done better.

In Mephiles' throne room, which had been empty of its master for a little over a month, now occupied Mauve and Shade, discussing Mauve's new mission (and two Black Arm Elites and a Giant and two Metarex warriors of elite training guarding it outside.

"...So Mephiles really hasn't been in danger all this time?" Mauve asked, arms folded and an eyebrow quirked. Shade nodded, pacing around his master's empty throne.

"Everything is going according to plan... the war between the traitor, Dr. Eggman (Shade was recalling when, a few years ago, Eggman had been part of Mephiles' united dynasty and had betrayed them all, costing Mephiles his victory) and G.U.N. is an unexpected benefit; Mephiles had miscalculated Eggman's losses when we and G.U.N. finished off what was left of his known resources. After this mission, you will be compensated well, and only a short service will be required afterwards. Soon, Mauve, you shall be the richest mercenary in the entire history of time."

Mauve grinned wickedly at this. "Very good..." he whispered. "Give me the details."

"Well, Dr. Ovator has found a way to cause a glitch in Dr. Eggman's anti-detection system. It will be short enough for Eggman to most likely ignore it, but G.U.N.'s ever-vigilant eyes will detect it; our scouts report the entire agent force of G.U.N. has been assigned the duty of searching for it. A new... occurrence our master brought about has caused G.U.N. to make haste of ending the war with Dr. Eggman. Just as well; they can force him to end the war at least until he's just as strong as he was the start, and that should give G.U.N. enough time to deal with the new power that threatens them. G.U.N. and Robotnik's forces will be too weak to deal with what Lord Mephiles the Dark plans to unleash upon them once they've finished their petty war."

"Shade, sir, no offense, but we barely have enough muscle to keep our hideout secure" Mauve said, trying not to scoff.

Shade glared at the bat awhile, before restraining himself from slitting the scum's throat open. He heaved a deep sigh, and regained his calm composure.

"The force Mephiles used to threaten G.U.N. is much, much greater than it seems. Soon, that power shall supply us with millions of troops, and an elite fighting force greater than even the Havocs and us combined!" Shade seemed to be exalting in his own dramatic statement, his eyes glazed, unfixed and staring at nothing but the image of glory in his head.

Mauve nodded. "So... what do you want me to do after Ovator has implanted the glitch?" he asked.

Shade returned his gaze to the mercenary. "Simple. As soon as the battle is underway, and Eggman's forces are occupied fighting G.U.N., you are to infiltrate Eggman's fortress. Now, Eggman's fortress is completely defended by many thousands of mechs and roughly 20-25 of his entire fleet, and the rest are ready to come to its aid. If the outer defenses and the anti-air batteries are neutralized, G.U.N. will send their entire fleet in a surprise attack, which will decimate most of Eggman's fleet before he can counterattack, and victory will be within G.U.N.'s reach. Then, Eggman will attempt to flee. Here's what we need you to do in order to prevent that..."


	6. A Mighty Offensive

Chapter Eight: Evil's Wrath, Darkness's Mercy

**Chapter Five: A Mighty Offensive **

G.U.N. Frontline, 1.4 clicks Southwest of Sapphire Bay, near Aspen Fields. G.U.N. Gamma Company

A G.U.N. corporal by the name of Robert Williams was running for cover behind a pile of concrete rubble, where the only other survivors of his platoon remained; his sergeant, his best friend Marcus (also a corporal), and two privates he didn't know well. He leapt to cover the last little distance between him and the rubble, which proved fortunate as a blast of laser energy seared the space he'd been in a moment before.

It had been like this for a week; Gamma Company (consisting of one hundred and fifteen men) had been merely a fourth of the G.U.N. force that had held this area and its seaport from land attackers. A group of six destroyers, three cruisers and an assault carrier had been ready to defend it from an aerial assault, and ready to call for reinforcements if need be. The sea port was currently the 3rd most important port G.U.N. held, and was the 2nd highest source of supply income on this part of the continent, having a fairly large shipyard attached to it. And most of Gamma Company were either veterans, or had received hard-core training. But now, Eggman had attacked en force, and had been laying siege to G.U.N.'s land defenses for a week, each day advancing forward a bit more, and an air fleet five times the size of the defense fleet had attacked, and only eight capital ships had been available to come to G.U.N.'s aid, and were even then locked in battle... but G.U.N.'s forces here were down to their last company of soldiers, their last three capital ships (being an assault carrier, a destroyer, and a lightly-damaged cruiser) and the hundred or so fighters that covered them, and if reinforcements didn't arrive soon, they were screwed.

Personally, Robert didn't think they'd get any help; G.U.N.'s forces were spread thin across their territory, and there were more important places to defend. Although two assault carriers, three destroyers, five cruisers, and seven hundred fighters and a couple dozen bombers were supposed to arrive, it likely wouldn't be in time. Marcus had said that along with the extra company of men they were sending along and a few platoons of mechs, two goddamn _Mobians _were supposed to arrive! Yeah right; to defend this little port when Eggman's shadow loomed over G.U.N. Headquarters itself with the destruction of that one airbase?

Catching his breath, Robert thankfully drank from a canteen one of the privates handed him. His sergeant hoisted his assault rifle, and peered over the rubble. He studied the area for awhile, and quickly ducked down again.

"Alright men; the rest of Gamma Company is isolated .3 clicks over there..." the sergeant said, jerking his head towards the area mostly controlled by Eggman's mechs. "We have to meet up with them, and push back the enemy that's cutting us off right now. You two;" The sergeant indicated the two privates. "Lob all your grenades over there; try and blow up as many of the metallic bastards as you can. Marcus, corporal Williams? I need you two to provide me and our privates here with cover fire while we push ahead. We'll try and find more cover and then signal to you, got it?"

Robert nodded alongside Marcus. "Sir, yes sir!" they said enthusiastically.

The two privates pulled out two fragmentation grenades, and armed them. They counted to two, and then lobbed them over the rubble they were using for cover. They quickly drew out a couple more, and did the same, only aiming at a slightly different area. Robert and Marcus then rolled out, and peering out from behind their cover, Marcus and Robert fired their rifles, their rounds specifically designed to take down any foe; organic, robotic, whatever. Their rounds, when hitting a mechanized being, would literally cut through roughly 5' of titanium (if the armor came any heavier than that, explosive weaponry would most likely be needed), and sent a small explosion once the bullet's course was halted entirely, and if it didn't do the job to demobilize the mech, then the electrical discharge would fry all its systems, leaving it useless.

Marcus and Robert continued to fire, taking down mech after mech while the two privates continued to bombard the enemy with grenades. Finally, Robert signaled to the sergeant that the way was clear; the privates now only had one grenade between them.

"Go! Move!" the sergeant yelled, and the two privates were right behind him as they ran forward, Marcus and Robert moving somewhat more slowly behind them, shooting down the occasional mech that got in their way.

But suddenly, a deadly platoon of mechs stood between them and their objective, intent on wiping out Robert's squad. Their leader was a Shadow Android Mark II, which had only been seen in two or three engagements in the last four days across the globe.

"Shit!! Men, take cover!" Robert's sergeant yelled, and ducked behind a damaged wall G.U.N. had set up the first day of fighting, one of the privates right behind him. Marcus threw a grenade at the mechs just as they started to fire, the Shadow Android issuing orders in deep, metallic tones.

"Eliminate the organics!" it roared, and suddenly, its arm transformed into a chain-gun and he fired upon Marcus's, Robert's, and the private's cover. The sergeant and the other private were under fire by most of the platoon while only four other mechs fired at Robert, Marcus and the private with the Shadow Android.

"Damn this..." Robert muttered, and pulled out his heavy, highly-explosive round-shooting sidearm; it was like a miniature shotgun, only with a slightly longer range, smaller ammo clips, but packed more damage than a standard bullet, rose over his cover for less than a second, and took a quickly-aimed potshot at the Shadow Android, and ducked down again.

Luckily, it had hit; part of the Shadow Android's face had been blown off by the heavy round, halting its fire for a moment while it readjusted its programming.

Robert snuck a glance over at them, and faced Marcus and the private. "You guys, try and return fire" he said as quietly as he could and still be heard over the guns. "I'll lob a charge over there and scatter their ranks; they got nothing to guard them except their armor. Once they're scattered, lob your charges over, too, and we'll shoot the rest. Okay?"

"Right behind you, bud!" Marcus yelled, and raised his rifle over their cover and started shooting; the private joined him shortly afterwards. Robert then ducked low, readied a charge, and threw it over at the Shadow Android and the mechs.

The result was better than Robert could've dreamed; the explosion killed two mechs, and sent another crashing into the Android, halting its fire momentarily, allowing Marcus and the private to lob their grenades over as well, which almost directly impacted on the Shadow Android, making it go haywire. Then, following his instincts, Robert fired an entire clip from his rifle into the mech, but still it functioned, and was about to counter-fire while Robert was exposed, but Marcus and the private fired their rifles as well, punching deep into the Android's reinforced armor, but it still held, and with a metallic cry, finally fired its chain-gun, hitting the private in the chest right after Marcus ducked back down.

"Damn it!" Robert cursed, pulled out his sidearm, and fired the rest of the clip at the Android's head, which finally disabled its systems, and it fell, dead. All things considered, they were lucky; the explosives had apparently softened the armor, which had made the rifles' ammunition almost three times as effective as it would've been otherwise. Robert then slung out his rifle, and fired upon the mechs pinning down their sergeant and the other private. It drove off their attention long enough for the sergeant and the private to counter-attack, killing three mechs before they returned fire, forcing them to duck again.

Robert and Marcus tended to the fallen soldier, but he was dead; the round had pierced his thin body-armor and hit his heart. Robert sighed, and they did the only thing they could; took the private's ammo and dog tag.

"Alright... Marcus, you have any grenades left?" Robert asked. His friend nodded. "Okay; lob one more over there, and take a pot-shot at them; I'll go around the other side and fire at them; any we don't kill should be taken down by the sergeant and the other guy, affirmative?"

"Crystal, dude" Marcus said, readied a grenade, counted to three, and heaved it over. The explosion killed two more mechs, and Marcus's potshot killed another. The mechs, in a confused flurry, began to return fire, focused completely on Marcus... so Robert's fire took them by surprise. But the mechs quickly caught on, and fired at him as well, forcing Robert to duck back and throw his last grenade, killing two more.

Luckily, it was all they needed; the sergeant and the private fired rapidly, and made every shot count. Then, Marcus and Robert returned fire, and the last of the mechs went down at last. The sergeant and the private headed over to Robert and Marcus's cover, who stood up a bit to meet them.

"Excellent work, corporals" the sergeant said, and spat on one of the mech's fallen forms. "Alright; we should have a fairly clear shot to the rest of our company now; let's move! Marcus, you take point. Corporal Williams, you take flank. Let's move!"

So the squad of four men, which once consisted of over thirty soldiers with five mechs, rushed past the desolate, destroyed plains where the concrete walls of Gamma Company's defenses lay in ruins in most areas. Once, they found a three mechs of theirs' pinned down by eight Eggman mechs. They quickly defeated the enemy mechs, and moved on, the G.U.N. mechs following closely.

Finally, the met up with Gamma Company's majority, which was merely sixty two men now, eleven of them wounded, and eighteen mechs, one of which was missing an arm.

Gamma's commander, major Samuel Maximus, greeted their sergeant with extreme gratefulness.

"Sergeant, what's your squad's situation?" Maximus asked.

"We're low on ammo, but otherwise, we're one hundred percent, sir" he replied.

"Well, luckily, we have a few rifle clips we can spare, and several sidearm clips" the major replied. "Get what you need; forty of our guys and ten of our mechs are up fighting right now; go to them and try to help them hold out, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" the sergeant replied loudly, and he and the others saluted the major, who returned it. Then, Robert and his squad each got another clip for their rifles, one grenade, and three bullets for their sidearms. Then, they rushed to the front.

All was chaos; everyone was firing in heat-hardened trenches, bits of concrete being used for cover, and the return fire from the enemy very rarely halted at all; the mechs obviously had much more ammo and resources, forcing every G.U.N. to make every last bullet hit its target. One soldier had a machine-turret placed between two heavily-armored barricades, and seemed to be making much progress.

Robert stuck with Marcus and the private while the sergeant rushed about their line, doing what he could to help. Robert fired over his cemented cover, and got a mech before ducking back down.

"How much fucking longer is this going to take?" Marcus cursed, and after making sure of his target, threw one of his last two grenades right into a group of mechs, killing them all (at least ten) and sending metal scrap flying about.

Robert and the private returned fire at the mechs (one group seemed to have a grudge against Robert's squad) while Marcus reloaded his rifle with his last full clip. Then the three of them fired quickly and accurately, and managed to take down eleven mechs before the private had to reload.

"Robert! We have a Shadow Android trying to make its way here!" Marcus yelled, firing a short burst at the said target.

"Shit!" Robert cursed, and threw his final grenade once he estimated where Marcus was speaking of, and ducked back down before any mechs could spot him. The loud metallic curse that followed after the explosion assured Robert he at least softened the android. The private then boldly drew his powerful sidearm, and did something stupidly-brave; he rushed out of the trench they were in, and charged at the mech, never stopping his firing at the Android, who took hit after hit.

"Private!! Get back!" Robert yelled, and fired at the Android, who was fully occupied with the young private. After firing his last round, the private drew his rifle and fired, the Shadow Android now severely damaged, but about as pissed as an artificial being could be. Then, it drew a blade, and skewered the private dead-on, but the distraction was enough for Robert and Marcus to shoot it until it was down.

"Damn it... cocky little son of a bitch got himself killed..." Marcus muttered, leaning against a trench wall, panting heavily. Robert shook his head, his mind clouded with battle-fatigue and grief.

"C'mon... we gotta keep shooting... oh dear God..." Robert whispered, looking up.

"What...?" Marcus asked, but then he saw it too; the Egg Fleet had destroyed all but the last G.U.N. assault carrier above them, and one of the single-unit fighters from the Eggman fleet was coming down in an air strike on Gamma Company.

"Pull back! PULL BACK!!" yelled Robert's sergeant, but only the troops further back heard him and began to run for cover back towards where major Maximus had his headquarters. The rest of the troops and all the mechs continued firing at Eggman's forces, holding them back.

What happened next, Robert wasn't quite sure of, though, but he remembered experiencing something of a miracle; suddenly, the enemy fighter halted on its course, almost within strafing range. It was glowing with a soft, assuring, green light. Then, suddenly, it heaved itself onto Eggman's ground forces, and the explosion nearly destroyed them all.

Marcus looked over to his left, and smiled. "I'll be damned..." he whispered.

There stood Silver the Hedgehog, who was picking up fallen scraps of the mechs, and flung them with such force at the surviving mechs, they were all blown and sliced apart.

Blaze the Cat was with him; she suddenly held up her hand, which glowed with a fiery orange light, and charged it with energy; she then blasted forth an enormous typhoon of fire, which shot out like an arrow towards the Egg Fleet. Silver then concentrated his energy around it, sealing the heat and keeping it together, and incasing the flames within a metal-hard shielding, and it hit one of the Egg Assault Carriers, blowing it apart.

Looking up, Robert noticed that exactly ten G.U.N. capital ships were arriving to reinforce the final capital ship there and the few dozen fighters; they then fired heavily upon the Egg Fleet, and began to push it back. A few dropships was arriving as well, and the dropped off a fresh platoon of mechs, and the rest dropped off another company of G.U.N. troops, heavily supplied. Two other mech platoons arrived as well, and the reinforcements took the battle posts Gamma Company had abandoned.

Major Maximus called Gamma Company back to regroup and rest while Silver, Blaze, and the fresh company drove back the mechs.

Robert and Marcus's battle was over... for now.

With Silver and Blaze

After a final, desperate wave of Eggman mechs arrived, Silver and Blaze had taken the front lines; Silver blocked all the ammunition aimed at them, and fired it back while Blaze seared mech after mech with her amazing fire powers; torrents of flames struck the mechs while Silver redirected all their fire, and eventually, with G.U.N.'s support, the mechs were decimated, and the Egg Fleet was forced into retreat.

While G.U.N. was pulling the wounded back, a squad of mechs were searching the field for anything useful, G.U.N. wounded, or any enemy mechs that might still be working. Silver and Blaze stood atop some rubble, looking upon the battlefield.

"War... I see no glory; only depression and death" Silver said heavily. "Not quite at all like in the stories, huh?"

"Yes..." Blaze agreed, and sighed. "It was good Emerald Town was only a two-day drive from here; had we received word a minute later, we might've been too late to save G.U.N.'s occupation force here..."

"Yeah... well, it's as I felt; my time came when it needed to for me to assist in this war" Silver said with a small smile. Blaze faced him, and offered a small smile in return.

"Well, let's go; G.U.N. can hold out here awhile without us, I think" she said, indicating the awaiting dropship.

"Yes; G.U.N.'s been freshly supplied and reinforced; Sapphire Bay will remain in our hands, for now" Silver said. "Hey, wait; is Gamma Company leaving too?"

Blaze nodded. "They're being reassigned; something of a reward for holding out so long here. Something safer, I hope" she answered.

"Is anywhere safe nowadays?" Silver muttered, but summoned his energy to make him float above with the dropship, and they flew off.

G.U.N. Headquarters, 1.2 hours after victory at Sapphire Bay

Right now, at the headquarters, everyone was working tirelessly, even more so than they had been since the war had started; people were filing, reading, and sending reports from the agents who were searching for Dr. Eggman's fortress of operations. The G.U.N. Commander stood in his area, speaking with Admiral Atmos and Sub-Commander Elaine (who had returned from her campaign to retake Frog Forest from Eggman's occupation forces, which had been quite successful). The war was finally starting to turn to G.U.N.'s favor, but favor was beginning to not matter anymore; only by finding Eggman's main base, attacking, and causing him major losses would this war end quickly, and then they could finally focus on other matters.

"With Sapphire Bay still secured, our income of supplies from Soleanna will remain unhindered" the commander was saying. "Once we've located Eggman's fortress, we'll await the next import before attacking; we'll take that time to marshal our forces together and coordinate a plan of attack..."

Suddenly, a G.U.N. lieutenant ran up, and saluted them.

"Sirs!" he said; "Team Dark has returned; they have their report."

The commander's eyes widened, and he exchanged equally-glad looks with Atmos and Elaine. "Send them in" the commander said, and the lieutenant saluted and left.

Finally; one thing that was troubling the commander was going to be taken care of. The airbase's destruction deeply troubled him and the rest of the command staff. Once it was solved, they'd only be concerned with Eggman again.

Finally, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega entered, and approached the command staff members, and they all snapped off a crisp salute. After the High Commander, Atmos, and Elaine returned their salutes, Atmos sat down, and the commander approached them.

"Team Dark, good to see you back" he said. "Now then, what did you find?"

"A rather nice haul, sir" Rouge said, and plugged her datapad into a nearby terminal. "We analyzed the ground and base remains... whatever caused it isn't a weapon we know of today..."

Elaine and Atmos exchanged a glance, but the commander nodded, indicating for Rouge to continue.

"There's a radiation, but the chemistry is unlike anything we've ever seen; the closest to it is magnesium, but much more intense... to be honest sir, it's... it's..."

"It's as if this very element was naturally created for war" Shadow put in.

Rouge looked over at him, and nodded. "Yes... exactly, sir" she said.

"What else do you have?" Elaine asked. "Any idea _what_ or _who _caused this destruction?"

Rouge and Shadow looked at each other, and the ebony hedgehog looked at Omega, who nodded.

"BEGINNING PLAYBACK..." Omega stated, and showed the command staff exactly what he, Shadow, and Rouge had seen just over two hours ago.

They saw the dark monster wreaking havoc... killing everything... its resemblance to Mephiles...

Finally, after the playback was over, Admiral Atmos broke the silence.

"That would explain why we can't pinpoint the chemistry of what utterly destroyed the base..." he said.

The commander and Elaine nodded; "We've already put all bases on alert, but I think it'll be necessary to alert the COs at all major bases of what we're up against, exactly, but keep it quiet among the troops; word of Mephiles' possible return will lower morale, and we need all the morale we can get to defeat Eggman" Elaine said.

The commander nodded at her. "Agreed; Atmos, I want you to contact Vice-Admiral Zackary; tell him that as soon as his sea-navy fleet pushes away Eggman's assault forces from Aquaine Gulf, he is to join his air forces with your air-fleet. Elaine, I want you to contact Colonel Jackson, and General Audi, and have them report here." The commander then stood up straight and tall. "We need to be ready to assault Eggman's forces... and I feel the time is soon..."

The commander, it seemed, had become a prophet; an agent leader suddenly came into the room, flanked by the sub-commander of his team. They both quickly saluted everybody, who returned the salutes more crisply.

"Yes, agents? What's the 411 on your progress?" the commander asked.

"Sir!" the agent leader said. "Our team was monitoring the planet's power grid, and we picked up a flux; we activated an orbital camera, viewed the area of the flux, and at first, sir, it looked like nothing... but we compared it to certain elements and radiation, and pinpointed that it was cloaking technology... and then, a huge, gargantuan fortress was revealed to our camera's heat-vision lenses! Sir, there was a massive fleet over the fortress! We're certain it's Eggman's fortress of operations!"

The commander exchanged glances with Atmos and Elaine; Shadow exchanged glances with Rouge...

Was this the end of the Mecha War? Was Eggman almost finished?

G.U.N. Headquarters, 1 day later; central meeting room

Here, the entire command staff (save General Catherine, who was in charge of G.U.N. border defenses and was almost always busy battling Eggman's assault forces) was gathered, along with Shadow, Rouge, Omega, Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles. They were all seated around a large, circular table (this was the same room the agents had met to learn of that one airbase's destructions, but all the seats had been mechanically folded away under the floor to make room for the table).

The command staff had been working hard since yesterday; trying to observe Eggman's defenses through that tiny, almost invisible flux in Eggman's cloak defenses that allowed G.U.N. to view his fortress, and then come up with an elaborate plan had not been easy, but they eventually were able to chart out his defenses and positions. After the commander had let them all shower and sleep for two hours, they'd called the Mobians here to form their plan.

"Thank you all for coming here" the commander said. "Now, as Shadow and Rouge have likely already informed you, we've located Eggman's base, and plan to destroy it, and end this war."

"All _right_!!" Sonic said, and high-fived Tails, who was also grinning. "Infiltrate and annihilate!"

The commander cleared his throat, and continued. "We won't be attacking until Soleanna's next import, which will be in three days..."

"Um, commander?" Amy said suddenly, raising her hand. "Well, Sonic and I are having our wedding tomorrow... that won't mess up anything, will it?"

The commander couldn't help but smile, but Shadow just rolled his eyes. "No, Miss Rose" the commander said. "You and Mr. Sonic's wedding will be able to continue as if this war never happened."

Amy and Sonic exchanged a smile, and faced the center.

"Now, here's the plan; Admiral Atmos and Vice-Admiral Zackary's air-fleet has assembled, and over twenty thousand capital ships (each with two hundred fighters guarding it and having fifty docked within their own bays) have been pulled from our fleet so far, but we're not pulling another fighter from the main fleet (of 30,000 minus the other ships) to attack until we're totally ready. Eggman has at least 30,000 ships guarding this fortress, and the ground forces have been estimated to be three hundred thousand around the immediate fortress's outer walls alone. To be able to take down Eggman's fleet and have Atmos's and Zackary's ships punch through to the fortress and take down Eggman, we'll need to neutralize the anti-air batteries around the fortress, or at least a hole big enough so that the fleet doesn't get torn up. We're confident we can blind enough scanners and sensors so that Eggman doesn't become aware of whoever's taking out the batteries... still, it will need to be a small group, that can move fast and punch hard."

The commander faced Shadow. "Agent Shadow, you and your team will be supported by a platoon of our troops, a squad of Beetle Sentries, and another agent team; there'll be two Juggernaut tanks as well, because you'll likely need the firepower."

Shadow nodded. "Sir... what will we taking down, exactly?" he asked.

"The main threat is the anti-air tower; it can gut a capital ship in just two hits, or one if it hits a soft spot..." Atmos said darkly.

The commander nodded. "But Eggman has some large, heavily-armed mech units that could rapidly take down dozens of fighters, maybe a capital ship if they pool their fire..." the commander hit a switch, and a hologram appeared over the table they were gathered at; the mech was like a titanic-version of a standard mech (holographic measurements alongside the image showed it to be 178 feet tall), only its arms were joined together to form one, large cannon. The commander hit another switch, and the mech suddenly fired holographic blasts in a quick, semi-automatic fashion (it had strangely aimed at Knuckles, who jumped back a bit).

"There's a group of two of those in one area, and they're guarded by at least a hundred mechs" Colonel Jackson said. "The next group consists of three, and is lightly guarded, but there's a large, quadruped mech similar to the Egg Cerberus model, but in the fashion of a lizard-looking thing that patrols the anti-air regions."

On cue, the commander hit another button, and a slightly-larger holographic model of what looked like a metallic, wingless dragon appeared. Then, the hologram suddenly opened its mouth to unleash a devastating beam of energy, which destroyed a holographic image of a Juggernaut tank in one hit. The beam spat out a little more, and then it withdrew.

"It's covered with weaker, more rapid-fire guns, and a crew of several mechs runs it" General Audi stated. "The main beam can't fire higher than 2 degrees higher than its 'nose', though, so as long as you move fast and deliver fast enough attacks, you should be fine."

"Where's the weak spot on that fucker?" Rouge asked, folding her arms.

"Yeah... I'd prefer to get that over with quickly..." Sonic said with a nod.

"You'll have to board the area where the mechs run the machine, and blow the cooling-unit with something; that way, when it fires its main beam (which automatically fires once it locates and locks onto a target), the heat will practically go haywire, and blow the head apart, and disable it" General Elaine stated. "But as soon as you neutralize the anti-air defenses, you'll be done, Team Dark."

Shadow nodded, and smirked at Rouge; this would be tough, but nothing they couldn't handle. Rouge smiled back and winked at him.

"Wait... then what're we going to do?" Sonic asked, scratching his ear.

"We gonna just charge into the main army, kick some ass?" Knuckles asked eagerly.

"In a manner of speaking..." the commander said, smirking a little. "You, Sonic, Amy, and Tails are going to attack the mechs roughly half a click away from the anti-air defenses, closer to the fortress."

Amy's eyes widened. "That sounds dangerous..." she said slowly.

"We'll have several teams of agents providing you unseen support if you need it, but I'm confident you'll be just fine" the commander said, looking indicatively at Sonic. "Sonic, you've never failed a challenge; only Shadow here has been able to best you in combat even closely, and his powers are something I've never seen, even in you Mobians. And with Knuckles, your beloved, and Tails' knowledge and courage, you'll do almost perfectly, I'm certain."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, Sonic kinda smiled cockily and puffed out his chest proudly, Amy looking at him admiringly. Shadow glanced at Sonic and stared a moment, imagining himself kicking the crap out of Sonic...

"But anyway; the attack is mostly a diversion; not even you guys will be able to take on Eggman's entire army on your own; you'll mostly be buying Shadow's team some time, and making it easier on our ground forces to push through and decimate Eggman's mechs" Colonel Jackson said, and the commander nodded.

"Yes; the victory of this battle- of the _war –_ rests on our fleet destroying Eggman's, and destroying his fortress once and for all. Even if for some reason we can't destroy the fortress quickly enough, Eggman will suffer severe losses. Either way, if we pull this off, Eggman will almost certainly be forced to quit this war."

Shadow nodded, Sonic tapped his foot eagerly, and put an arm around Amy. "Don't worry commander; I know how important this is. I'll kick their metallic butts until I drop from exhaustion, which won't be any time soon." Sonic said this quite seriously; even Shadow was convinced Sonic was going to do this to the best of his ability, and not screw around with it.

"Tails, come with me. We'd like you to double-check our sensor-blockers, and try and help with some of the other equipment we're using" Elaine said. Tails nodded, gave Sonic a thumbs-up (which was returned), and followed Elaine outside the room.

"The rest of you are dismissed; we'll call you here once we're ready to move out" the commander said.

Everyone then left the room, and proceeded down the hallway. Sonic and Amy took two seats in a waiting room to wait for Tails to finish, Knuckles said he and Tikal had a date at the beach on Angel Island, and Shadow and Rouge decided to go and spend the night with Luna, and head to sleep.

Everyone's mind, however, was on the mighty offensive they were all about to take, that would end one major conflict...

But something at the back of Shadow's mind made him have an odd feeling... he felt that they were far from going down the slope of this mountain, so to speak...

"Do you really think this'll end the war with Eggman?" Shadow asked Rouge, who shrugged.

"Well, it'll certainly numb his nuts awhile" Rouge responded.

"Rouge! This is serious!" Shadow said exasperatedly. "If this goes awry, G.U.N. might be screwed; we're taking a huge number of our forces there, and in they're wiped out, G.U.N. will be done for..."

"Shadow! Don't worry... a lot of it's up to us... and we can get this done! Hell, even Sonic and his pals should do fine, and once we're done, Eggman will be completely and utterly boned" Rouge said matter-of-factly.

Shadow nodded...

But still the feeling remained... like he had climbed to the top of the mountain, only to see another high, high ledge of conflict ahead of him.


	7. Love Amongst War

Chapter Eight: Evil's Wrath, Darkness's Mercy

**Chapter Six: Love Amongst War**

Dr. Eggman's Fortress of Operations, 0600 hours in the evening

Eggman, at the moment, was busy pondering... his scanners detected many of the G.U.N. forces not immediately engaged with his forces were mobilizing... hard to tell exactly how many and where; G.U.N. was well-guarded even against his eye. But one thing was certain: G.U.N. was up to something...

And Dr. Eggman Robotnik despised those inferior-minded beings for not being able to tell _what _they were up to.

Metal Sonic had taken the force meant to engage the G.U.N. airbase, and had joined with another force that had been laying siege to the east side of Westopolis against General Catharine's forces, and together, they had managed to punch through and secure a safe area within the city. They were holding out fine, especially with Metal Sonic commanding them, but would take another bundle of reinforcements to be able to push through to the juicy spots; Central City, G.U.N. Headquarters, for instance.

Eggman had been secretly sending small mech platoons and ammo and some heavy armor units with that group, slowly swelling its power.

Soon, Eggman would unleash it upon G.U.N. Headquarters, and catch them with their pants down.

A fleet of 10,000 capital ships had been pulled from the fleet engaged on the front lines yesterday, and had moved in closer to Metal Sonic's location, but not so much as to arouse suspicion. 2,100 newly built ships were going to rejoin the main fleet today, and send about a hundred fighters to reinforce Metal Sonic's attack force.

"Metal Sonic!" Eggman said, tapping a button on his chair, and a hologram of Sonic's evil, metallic counterpart arose. "Is all in readiness?"

"Yes, master Robotnik" Metal Sonic said, bowing. "G.U.N., if our reports are correct, outnumber us 2-1 at the headquarters, but a quick strike will quickly demobilize and decimate them."

"Good" Eggman said. "So long as the Headquarters falls, and at least one member of their command staff captured, I consider it a good day. Now, I want your forces ready to move in exactly 33 hours. Dr. Eggman out." And Eggman ceased the communication.

As in chess, Eggman had countered a surprise with his own surprise.

Angel Island: Master Emerald Altar

Knuckles was leaning against a pillar now, re-reading his invitation to Sonic and Amy's wedding. Tikal was going to be Amy's maid of honor, and Rouge and Blaze were going to be the bridesmaids. Knuckles was the best man, and was quite proud of himself for that (Shadow and Silver were the groomsmen, Tails was the ring-bearer, and Cream was the flower-girl).

"Well... 6:30 today..." Knuckles muttered. "We shouldn't be late if we go in a minute or two. Hey, Tikal! Baby! You ready to go to the wedding yet?"

Tikal, who was in a hut she and Knuckles had built (supplied by the G.U.N. outpost about a mile and a half northeast from there), poked her head out the window.

"One minute! Just getting my shoes on!" she called.

Knuckles rolled his eyes. He'd put on a tux-vest and had showered and put some deodorant on. Why couldn't women keep it less complicated?

"Maybe I should just drag her there and get it over with..." the crimson echidna muttered, but then Tikal stepped out of the hut, and Knuckles' jaw went slack...

Tikal was wearing a cobalt-sapphire mixed color dress, made of lavish, silky material that pooled around her beautiful frame like a graceful, sparkling waterfall reflecting the indigo sunset. And one emerald earring hung from each ear, sparkling as they went, and Tikal's beautiful, lean aqua eyes gazed into Knuckles's deep violet eyes.

Suddenly, Knuckles was glad women endeavored to make themselves more beautiful.

"Wow... Tikal, hon, you look beautiful!" Knuckles said, getting up and standing before his girlfriend.

Tikal smiled at him. "Thanks" she said gently, and kissed Knuckles on the cheek, who chuckled, picked Tikal off the ground a little, and kissed her forehead.

Then, the G.U.N. jeep arrived, which would take them to the helipad where a helicopter awaited them. The chopper would then take them to Emerald Town's borders, only a couple blocks away from the church.

"C'mon, let's go!" Knuckles said, and led Tikal to the jeep, and they drove off.

Tikal had missed Shadow and Rouge's wedding... she hoped Sonic and Amy's wedding would be just as good, if not better.

Shadow and Rouge's house: Luna's room

Shadow was now cradling Luna to sleep (like Rouge had shown him), and the infant bat now cooed and slept peacefully in Shadow's arms. Shadow was already wearing a tux (the same one he wore to his and Rouge's wedding), and Rouge was wearing a silver, glimmering dress that had come down about halfway past her knees. She was now upstairs, putting some makeup on and simple earrings.

The ebony hedgehog looked down at his daughter, smiling. She was so innocent, so young, so adorable, and such a joy to him. The only joy Shadow had known to rival his love for Luna had been his sister-brother love with Maria, and his passionate, unyielding, powerful, eternal, true love for Rouge. Shadow finally gave Luna a tiny peck on the forehead, and laid Luna down in her cradle.

"Sleep well, my angel..." Shadow whispered. "Daddy will... wait, why the fuck did I just say 'daddy'?"

"Shadow! Drop the F-Bomb away from the cradle, please" Rouge said softly, entering the room, and smiling once she saw Luna (she now had lipstick and her blue mascara re-painted, and Shadow admired her dress awhile).

"No matter how many times I look at her..." Rouge said, bending over and kissing Luna's forehead, making the small bat coo. "...She never stops making my heart beat a little harder, y'know?"

"Yes... damn, you bats are making me too soft" Shadow said with a shake of his head as they left the room.

Rouge smirked at him and chuckled. "Nah; we just tore away the grit guarding your fluff" she said, poking Shadow's chest fur.

Shadow rolled his eyes, and sighed. "You pay the baby sitter another day?" he asked.

"Yeah; once we get back from the wedding, I want to spend as much time with Luna as we can before G.U.N. launches the attack" Rouge said, lowering her voice a little in case the babysitter was near. "We haven't been able to spend much 'together' time with her since you got back, y'know."

"Yes... truly a shame..." Shadow murmured. "She's so beautiful... I'll bet she grows up to be even more beautiful than you" he teased.

"Not possible" Rouge said with a laugh, punching Shadow's arm. "C'mon, tough guy, let's hit the road."

Shadow nodded, and they left the house, entered their car, and drove off to the church.

Church in Emerald Town, 5 Minutes later; Silver and Blaze

Silver and Blaze were now in the main chamber, and could see several groups of Sonic's buddies and relatives (both human and those who had actually come from Mobius) at the wedding, along with Amy's relatives, and the Chaotix Agency seated.

"Where's the G.U.N. Commander?" Silver asked Blaze, scanning the crowd. Blaze merely shrugged, her mind seemingly elsewhere.

"Probably too dangerous for him to be out here; too much of a target for Eggman" Silver concluded, and finally noticed Blaze wasn't paying any attention. "Hey, Blaze, what's up?"

The pale-violet cat finally turned to face the one she'd been dating awhile, a sincere, stone-hard look on her face.

"Silver... it's just... all these people, such strong love in the air..." Blaze looked at her feet, cleared her throat, and looked at Silver again.

"Silver... I... I think I... er, well... I love you."

Silver's golden eyes widened in shock...

Mostly because it was the statement that had been hiding behind his heart for so long, and hearing it from the one who had placed that statement there was... ironic.

Blaze nuzzled up to Silver, who wrapped his arms around Blaze and held her close.

Soon, perhaps, they'd be in this church again under different circumstances... but, that was getting ahead of himself, Silver thought...

With Amy

Amy, in her dressing room, spun her elegant, silver-white gown around her, and it clung to her like liquid running down her. Her headdress lied down in a chair to her left, and Amy's face was even more enhanced and stunning than usual.

Amy was wearing ruby earrings, and some pink, glittering mascara on her eyelids. Just a minimal amount of makeup had been applied, to hide the few, slight imperfections on her face, but also so that her natural beauty wasn't marred in the slightest.

Finally, Cream the Rabbit came into the room, wearing her little shining white flower-girl gown, her ears held up in a golden headdress. She cleared her throat politely, her little Chao following her, and faced Amy.

"Oh my gosh, Amy!" she squealed, and embraced the pink hedgehog, who chuckled and hugged back. "You look so pretty!! And you're finally marrying Sonic! I can't believe it!"

"You look really pretty too, Cream! You'll be a great flower-girl!" Amy said, and thought about what Cream had said about Sonic.

"Yeah... took him long enough to get around, didn't it?" Amy chuckled. "You were right though, Cream; once I finally just slowed down and eased up a bit, Sonic gave me a chance, and..." Amy threw her arms up to emphasize her point; "We're finally marrying together!!"

Suddenly, Amy's grin wavered, a tear ran down her eye, and she embraced Cream, who was taken by surprise.

"Oh CREAM!" Amy said, struggling not to sob. "I'm just s-so, so _happy_!! I-I never thought Sonic w-would l-like me!!"

"Amy! Please Amy, you're going to make me cry, too!" Cream said gently, snuffled a little, and Cheese (her little Chao, obviously), handed Amy a handkerchief. The pink hedgehog blew her nose, snuffled a little, and regained control.

"Dang it... now I have to fix my mascara!" Amy muttered, and gave a watery chuckle.

"Okay... well, good luck Amy!" Cream said, gave Amy a final little hug, and left, Cheese waving as they went.

"Ah... such a nice little kid" Amy sighed, reflecting on all Cream had been through with her, Sonic, and everyone else. "Well, better fix this mascara..." And so, Amy returned to the mirror.

With Sonic

Sonic, who was wearing a tux for the first time since he attended Shadow and Rouge's wedding, was covered with deodorant, trying to contain his nervous and unaccustomed clothing-produced sweat (but mostly nervous-sweat).

Tails came into the room at that moment, and Sonic managed to smile weakly at him.

"Hey, Sonic, how you holding up?" Tails asked, patting Sonic on the back...

Which made the blue hedgehog collapse.

"Oops! Jeez... sorry, Sonic..." Tails said, helping Sonic up. "You okay, bud?"

"Y-Yeah..." Sonic said shakily. "Only going th-through life-changing event here w-with someone I love g-greatly hoping I don't l-look stupid... yeah, fine! Hahaha!" he said, an eye twitching.

Tails now wore a worried look, his tails crossing in anxiety. "Sonic... sit down, buddy..." Tails advised, and helped Sonic to a chair, which the hedgehog collapsed into.

"Sonic, c'mon man, pull yourself together!" Tails said, soaking a washrag in the sink near Sonic's mirror and dabbing away Sonic's sweat and lightly slapping him with it. The blue hedgehog appeared slightly vacant.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah... heh, heh... wedding and all... OH DAMN IT TAILS, I'M ABOUT TO BE FREAKIN' MARRIED!!" Sonic said, snapping and grabbing Tails by his red bowtie. "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?! I CAN'T MARRY AMY, I'M A HUGE-FOOTED FREAK WHO'S BLUE!! NOBODY'S _BLUE_!!"

"Sonic!!" Tails yelled, and sharply slapped the wet washrag across Sonic's face, making the hedgehog come to and release Tails.

"Oh... man, sorry Tails... just a... tad nervous, I guess..." Sonic said.

"Just take deep breaths, Sonic" Tails said with a nervous smile. "That's it... in through the nose... and out the mouth."

Sonic inhaled deeply awhile, and finally calmed his mind down, leaving only excitement at being married.

"Man... Tails, this is going to be awesome!" Sonic said, now looking at himself in the mirror and trying to comb his quills together nicely.

"Yeah, it is!" Tails said assuringly, and patted Sonic on the shoulder (who didn't collapse this time).

"Alright... well, thanks Tails... just kinda needed someone to smack my courage back into me, I guess" Sonic said with a shrug. "I better get ready now though, okay bud?"

"Sure thing Sonic!" Tails said, and turned to leave. "Good luck, bud!"

"Thanks man!" Sonic said, giving Tails a thumbs-up, which was returned, and the fox left.

"Boy... battling monsters, demons, robots, and just a few vows with Amy are getting me worked up!" Sonic said to himself with a chuckle.

Main chamber again

Shadow and Rouge, Tikal and Knuckles, and Silver and Blaze had all taken up positions on the altar now, and everyone was seated, talking in low, hushed voices.

"So, Shadow..." Knuckles was saying quietly, "Wondering why you weren't good enough to be best man?"

"I could care less, echidna" Shadow said with a shrug, but shot Knuckles a venomous glare. Knuckles shrugged as well, and finally, Sonic came into the room and took up his position on the altar as well.

"Hey Sonic, how're you holding up?" Knuckles said, patting Sonic on the back. The blue hedgehog smirked at his friend.

"One-hundred percent, my man!" Sonic said, nodding at Knuckles, who smiled back.

Suddenly, the bridal theme began to play, and everyone stood up (Vector grabbing Charmy by the stinger to prevent him from zipping around Cream or Amy). Sonic and everyone else on the altar stared down the aisle, smiling (even Shadow, remembering when he'd watched Rouge approach in a similar church).

Cream came through, smiling widely, politely waving at the people she knew, gently spreading flowers out of her basket down the aisle...

And then, Amy was seen by all...

The silver-diamond sparkle the dress emanated set off an aura of beauty that impressed everyone, even Rouge. Amy's voluptuous, lean body fit into the molten-diamond and silver dress around her, and her eyelids' golden mascara glittered as if each one was a star, sparkling as if they knew all other stars lived in envy of them. The emerald eyes beneath the stars sparkled with such wonder, such love and beauty as she gazed upon Sonic...

And her greatest, largest, most wonderful dream was before her at last...

Amy snuffled a tear back, and continued down the aisle towards the altar, to make her dream come true once and for all.

Cream, whose basket was now empty, stood snuffling near her mother, Vanilla, as Amy made her way towards, and finally up the altar. Sonic gently took Amy's hand, his equally-shining emerald eyes reflecting all the love he gazed upon, the love that was the powerful, large, invincible tree that had grown from the seeds of infatuation Sonic had planted...

He hadn't expected those seeds to be planted in return...

Finally, the bridal theme ended, and they faced the priest, who smiled at them.

"Dearly beloved..." he began, and Amy's heart skipped a beat, hearing the words at the place that had seemed only possible on the fringes of imagination. Sonic's heart skipped a beat as well, now knowing he was about to be eternally bonded with someone he had to love forever...

He was up to that.

And so the priest continued, Shadow seemingly reliving every second of his and Rouge's wedding. Rouge glanced over at Shadow, who returned it, and then looked at Sonic and Amy, remembering the feelings all too well... the excitement, passion, love, and the overwhelming emotions...

Blaze and Silver, who shared a glance, imagined themselves in Amy and Sonic's place, perhaps in the near-future...

Knuckles smiled at Tikal, who had agreed that, if they got married, to have the ceremony on the altar of the Master Emerald, and have its power (greater than any in the universe, and bound to Knuckles) bind Tikal to him. Tikal returned the smile, a gentle, small smile that spoke enormous volumes of passionate love.

Finally, Tails approached, the wedding rings on a red, velvet pillow he carried. Sonic and Amy put them on each other, and Amy sniffled again. The tear, on its way down, was wiped away by Sonic, who was still, motionless, in his overwhelming bliss.

"Do you, Amy Rose, take Sonic to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the priest asked. "Through sickness, health, youth, and old age? Will you love him and care for him with all your heart?"

"...I do" Amy said with finality, staring into Sonic's eyes.

"Sonic the Hedgehog..." the priest continued, "Do you take Amy Rose to be your lawfully wedded wife? Through sickness, health, youth, and old age? Will you love her, care for her, with all your heart?"

"I... I do!" Sonic said sincerely, his eyes never leaving Amy's. Sonic took Amy's hands into his own.

"I now pronounce this couple, husband and wife!" the priest declared. "You may kiss the bride."

And then, all the love and affection in the room seemed to combust between the two; for the kiss that they then shared could only be understood by those in the room who had shared this kiss with another they loved as much. The kiss sent waved of flaming passion throughout them, and waves of cooling, assuring love that neither Sonic nor Amy could fully comprehend.

Finally, as the crowd applauded and tears were shed, the kiss ended, and the two newlyweds gazed at each other, and Sonic swept her up in his arms, and kissed her again.

Finally, the room emptied, and the reception began.

Five and a half hours later, reception building

The reception was a fulfilling one; everyone had an excellent, awesome, and even more awesome (?) night.

Knuckles didn't get as drunk as everyone thought he would (Tikal was his one check on the alcohol), Sonic and Amy finally had their wedding dance, and Amy's dream was complete.

Silver and Blaze had remembered, at Shadow and Rouge's wedding, when Silver had first asked Blaze out, and shared a loving kiss as they and other lovers danced to the romance tracks Sonic and Amy had picked out.

"This mushy crap is three times as lovey-dovey as the songs at _our_ wedding" Shadow had said to Rouge, putting his half-eaten cake aside.

"Ah, let the two have fun, Shad" Rouge had replied, cramming the remainder of her cake in her mouth, and swishing it down with a gulp of wine. "Remember how our wedding was? You were softer than ever!" Rouge emphasized her point by kissing Shadow on the cheek.

Finally, after a ton of gifts from everyone (Shadow and Rouge's were video game consoles they knew Sonic didn't have but would like and an expensive evening-wear dress for Amy; Silver and Blaze's was a pack of Blue-Ray movies they knew Sonic and Amy liked; Knuckles' and Tikal's was a 40' plasma flat-screen television; Tails' gift was a robot butler, who would do anything Sonic and Amy wanted it to do around the house; the Chaotix's gifts was a ninja-dummy from Espio, a boom-box Vector and a prank-kit Charmy, obviously).

Then, as the reception ended, Sonic dashed Amy home, and they spent their first night together as a wedded couple.

Everyone else went home as well, and all felt that the love amongst war was something everyone needed.

The Next Day; eastern Westopolis. 10:30 in the morning

A small G.U.N. platoon with some mech support squads was bunkered down in some ruins of a building. Three mechs ran a small anti-air turret that could take down fighters, and three anti-infantry turrets were set up in a defensive line around their protection. One Juggernaut mech was behind them, ready to take on heavy-duty foes.

A young woman, a second-lieutenant named Susan Allen, was in command of this platoon, a newly-promoted sergeant (a little under a month ago) was her second-in-command. She now went amongst the line, reassuring her troops that they could hold out another day before reinforcements (another platoon, general Catherine had promised, along with two more Juggernauts and another mech squad, and more ammo) arrived.

This post was near the front lines, and had seen quite a bit of action, but they had the best of it; they were attacked only about once a week, sometimes less, and it was usually fairly light (the only "not-light" attack had cost them their 2nd Juggernaut mech and thirty men, and ten mechs). The main purpose of this post was mostly just further assurance against Eggman's lines breaking through.

"Lieutenant?" a corporal spoke up, who ran the (mildly-limited) enemy-detection system they had. "Something faint... but big. Might wanna come take a look, ma'm."

Susan approached, and looked at the scanner; sure enough, a large, yet barely-readable contact was approaching them.

"All units; be on alert!" she said. "But don't get jumpy; it could be an ally. Mechs; ready anti-air gun. Sergeant; get the Juggernaut online and primed, understood?"

"Yes, ma'm!" the sergeant said, and faced the squad he commanded. "Hop to, soldiers! You heard the CO!"

As the position went to readiness, lieutenant Susan took a high-tech pair of binoculars from a willing private, and gazed forth, only setting it forward a bit. Then, a shadow loomed in the sky, and she zoomed in on it...

It was an Egg Assault Carrier, and hundreds of fighters were with it.

"Sergeant!!" Susan screamed; "Radio commander-lieutenant Fredrick! Tell him we have heavy-duty hostile air-inbound!"

"Aye, ma'm!" the sergeant yelled, and went to the radio.

"Corporal! Have the mechs ready the turret, and get ready to fire! Everyone else, fire at will!" the young CO added to a soldier near her.

"Yes ma'm!" everyone yelled, and went about their duties.

"Lieutenant!" a private yelled, pointing ahead of them. "Enemy infantry inbound!"

"Damn it!" she cursed. "Okay, everyone; ready weapons, and fire!"

Everyone complied, and sure enough, a huge wave of mechs arrived... much larger than Susan had feared. She estimated at least five hundred mechs in sight alone... but she was confident they could hold until Catherine and Fredrick (who commanded the front-line fleet while Catherine commanded the ground forces) could send help.

Everyone mounted some cover, and the Juggernaut tank moved forward, eight mechs guarding its front while the men on turrets nailed down the threats to the tank. Everyone else opened fire upon the engaging mech horde.

But suddenly a sharp bullet cut through the radio, just as the sergeant had began calling for help.

"Shit!!" he cursed. "Lieutenant! I radioed Captain Fredrick, but I'm not sure I got through..." he said uncertainly.

"Very well..." the CO said with a sigh. She then looked the sergeant in the eye. "Get to your men, sergeant; we won't make it far once those fighters are within range. All we can do is hold out here and kill metallic bastards."

"Yes ma'm!" the sergeant said enthusiastically, pulled out his rifle, and joined the majority of troops firing.

The anti-air turret had taken down about a dozen fighters by now, and two bombers who had attempted a strafing run, but once the assault carrier was in range, they were screwed; the turret simply lacked the bite to tear through a capital ship, let alone a heavily-armored carrier.

The troops were holding out well, despite being greatly outnumbered; the mechs had only a few odd spots of ruins to take cover behind, and the ones that did were decimated anyway by the Juggernaut. The sergeant laughed as the mechs fell, only two of his men (lightly) wounded when G.U.N. had killed at least fifty of them.

"How do you like this?!" he yelled, and threw a grenade at the on-coming mechs, killing a group of them (two he had intended to kill dodged out of the way in time). But then, a laser-round tore through his head, went straight through, and killed a private who was behind him. The sergeant groaned, and fell to the ground.

The shot had been quick, sharp, and powerful; a sniper round. A few men panicked and wildly looked around for it, but were gunned down as they unconsciously exposed themselves.

"Eyes front, soldiers!" Susan yelled. "Keep your heads together; fire on them!"

This waked up the soldiers still stunned by their sergeant's death, and continued firing.

But suddenly, as the anti-air turret took down another incoming fighter, a blue, metallic figure leapt in the air, and flew on a jetpack towards the powerful gun, and fired a large missile...

The anti-air gun was blown apart, sending shrapnel around them.

"Metal Sonic!" Susan cursed. "Corporal! Have our mech sniping squad try and-"

But then, the same round that had killed her second in command flew from Metal Sonic's weapon array and pierced the lieutenant's heart.

G.U.N. had sent a cruiser to see what was happening, only hearing "hostile air" before being cut off. The cruiser had hastily fired upon the assault carrier, damaging it, but was eventually destroyed before Fredrick or Catherine could be alerted.

And so, the bombers strafed the position, and the G.U.N. force was extinguished.

With the way clear of resistance, Metal Sonic led his force of 500,000 mechs and over 10,000 capital ships closer to G.U.N. Headquarters...

Shadow and Rouge's house, 10:50

_Don't worry...- protect them...- help people...- right, Shad-?_

_Rushing images... shadows... blood... fear colder than ice..._

"_Shadow will...- you monster!" A girl's voice? Maybe... maybe not; conception wasn't a reality anymore..._

"_Bah!... insolence!"_

_Fear... death... the laughter of evil..._

_Flames... entrancing, engulfing, wicked flames... evil, cold, ice spearing its way to the top of the flames that burn it all..._

_Then, cold assurance puts out the flames... kisses the skin with fresh hope and clear caring..._

"_Shadow..." the girl's voice again... gentler, unafraid, assuring as the cool breeze..._

"W-wha-?" Shadow yelped, suddenly waking up from his bed.

'_Jesus... what the hell was that?_' Shadow thought to himself, rubbing his forehead and sitting on the edge of the bed... which was wet with the hedgehog's sweat.

"Weird..." he murmured out loud, and finally got out of bed. He turned to see Rouge still asleep, curled up in the blankets. Shadow smiled at his wife, and stroked her cheek with his finger. Rouge smiled in her sleep and sighed softly, peacefully.

"So damn beautiful..." Shadow whispered gently, and bent over to kiss Rouge on the forehead...

"Surprise!!" Rouge suddenly yelled, grabbed Shadow by the shoulders, flung him back on the bed, and pinned him down.

"What... you, you were... uh..." Shadow stammered, and finally just chuckled with Rouge. "Okay, okay, you got me. Now get the hell off!"

"My, my, so bossy!" Rouge laughed, kissed Shadow on the nose, and finally got up. "C'mon, let's go! G.U.N. wants us at the Headquarters today to help prepare for the attack; I wanna spend some time with Luna before we have to go."

"When _do _we have to go?" Shadow asked, getting off the bed as well.

"In about an hour; they called my about thirty-minutes ago, and I didn't want to wake you... and then I couldn't back to sleep..." and suddenly, Rouge's face became concerned.

"Mostly because of all the twitching and moaning you were doing... not another nightmare about Maria, was it?" she asked.

"No... well, I don't know; it was cloudy and confused... familiar somehow, though..." Shadow said thoughtfully. "Ah, never mind... let's go see our child" he said, smiling a little.

Rouge brightened up as well. "Yeah, let's go hang with our new peep" she said, chuckling at her own joke (Shadow just sighed).

So they went and spent a good, long while with their daughter; Luna already seemed to be getting bigger and was now getting thicker light-gray fur on her. She'd even learned her first full word; toybox.

"She's a quick learner... just like your dad, huh?" Shadow said as he held Luna after breakfast, ruffling his daughter's ears, making her giggle and yell; "Dada! Toybox! Dada, dada!" over and over, and seemed to be making a song out of it as she banged her plastic spoon on the table in a slightly off-beat rhythm.

"Please" Rouge said with a teasing roll of her eyes. "You had to fight off an entire alien civilization and get the Chaos Emeralds to re-learn your past" she said with a chuckle and wink at Shadow.

Shadow chuckled as well, shaking his head.

But later, after Rouge and Shadow had alternated holding Luna, spending as much time as they could with her, Shadow's communicator went off.

"Rouge, is it time to go?" he asked, hesitating before answering it.

"Well... just about... but we shouldn't have to leave for at least another ten minutes..." Rouge said uncertainly.

Shadow finally hit a button, which transferred the call to the house phone (so the loud voice wouldn't wake Luna, who Rouge was trying to sooth asleep), and talked through it.

"Agent Shadow here, go ahead" the ebony hedgehog said.

"Shadow?" it was General Audi's voice. "We need you here ASAP... we have hostile forces inbound! We've already lost 200 capital ships before we could figure out what was happening, and our anti-air defenses are being hard-pressed by infantry. We need you and Agent Rouge here soon, please!"

Shadow's eyes widened. "We'll be right there" he said as calmly as he could (so as to not disturb Luna), and hung up. He faced Rouge, who was holding a sleeping Luna.

"Is the babysitter on her way?" Shadow asked, following Rouge as she took Luna to her cradle.

"Yeah... I called her a few minutes before you woke up" Rouge replied, and tucked Luna in. "She should be on her way now... so what's up?" (she said this as they left the room).

Shadow took in a deep breath and faced her as they stood by the door, Shadow taking out his red Chaos Emerald that he only used in very important missions from the hidden hatch on the wall.

"Eggman has launched a surprise attack on G.U.N. Headquarters, and they're in danger of being overrun" Shadow told her. Rouge's eyes widened, and she nodded.

"Okay, let's go" she said, and Shadow nodded as he held the Chaos Emerald above them.

"Chaos... CONTROL!" he shouted, and they vanished, once again, into the red void.

G.U.N. Headquarters, Control Center

The G.U.N. Commander and General Audi were trying to command everything as smoothly as they could; Eggman's forces had caught them totally off guard, and though the attack force alone probably wasn't quite enough to take the headquarters, the surprise of it was starting to even it out.

They'd lost 600 capital ships now, but Admiral Atmos and Vice-Admiral Zackary had taken a firm command of the Headquarters' defense fleet (which usually consisted of 16,000 capital ships, but 1,000 of them had joined the hidden fleet they were planning to use to attack Eggman's fortress), and were holding firmly against Eggman's fleet. The anti-air guns were full pressed to assist the fleet, and so far, the Headquarters itself wasn't in any immediate danger of attack...

But the anti-air guns were being hard-pressed by enemy infantry, which was fighting incredibly coordinated under Metal Sonic's direct command. Two anti-air guns had been blown apart by the initial bombardment, and another one had been destroyed by the infantry. And all three guns had been part of the ring of guns surrounding the Headquarters, which meant that the gap was safe from Eggman's fleet, and a majority of it was trying to press through, which was where Atmos's and Zackary's fleet was the most hard-pressed.

The commander sighed; this was the last thing they needed before the attack... but he should've seen it coming; Eggman must've figured G.U.N. was up to something, and decided to kick them in the groin to remind them who he thought was supposed to win the war.

The commander thought the exact opposite, obviously.

"Commander?" Audi said, reading a nearby message panel. "Agent Shadow and Rouge have arrived; they're right outside in the waiting room.

"Go and brief them, General" the commander told him. "I'll manage things here."

"Yes sir" Audi said, and left the room, where Shadow and Rouge were seated.

The general made his way to them, dodging a squad of soldiers making their way out the building to join the fighting.

"Hello, Agent Shadow, Rouge" Audi greeted as the said Mobians stood and saluted him. "Excellent timing. Now, at ease... let me get you up to speed on what we need..."

Audi hit a panel that showed Shadow and Rouge a holographic image of the base and Eggman's attacking forces.

"Our anti-air turrets have been able to thin Eggman's attack fleet enough so that they're practically forced to line up in two rows" Audi said. "But our fleet can't attack them directly without risk of being hit by the anti-air guns..."

"Couldn't we take one offline to let a few of our ships flank them?" Rouge asked.

"We though so... but easily lost a cruiser and most of its guard-fighters..." Audi replied grimly. "Eggman's fleet has clustered most of his fighters, the ones not immediately engaged with ours, to support some new heavy bomber-mechs he's developed to immediately attack any ship that'll try to flank him... its too risky."

There was silence a moment, and Shadow asked; "Could we go under the fleet and bombard them from there?"

"No... the infantry is too thick now that they've cleared a gap in our anti-air defenses..." Audi said. "So, anyway, here's what the commander, Atmos, and I have decided to do: Omega and Knuckles have taken the front lines, but our infrared sensors have detected over 100 invisible mech teams heading towards the base... a platoon of heavy-mechs is with them. They're definitely planning to find one of our entrances and find a way in. Rouge, we'll be having you coordinate the agents' defenses; they'll be guarding every entrance. You'll only have limited motion trackers and your senses to spot them, though; our heat-scanners could only detect the heat from the cloaking ignition... and the initial heat is gone now."

"And me? What's my job?" Shadow asked.

"We're sending you to infiltrate a destroyer right in the middle of Eggman's line of ships. You are to detonate the core, use Chaos Control to get you (and the squad of our elite soldiers we're sending with you) out, and that explosion, with those ships boxed together so tightly, should send out a chain-reaction, destroying at least 2,000 ships alone. Then Atmos is taking his fleet to surround what's left, and finish them" Audi said finally. "It likely won't break formation once you enter it, either; it'd risk getting itself gutted, and maybe knock a close ship into our firing range as well."

"Sounds good!" Rouge said with a smile, and Shadow slowly nodded in agreement.

"Very good" Audi said with a smile. "Rouge, your agent team is in the main antechamber in sector alpha; head there. Shadow, head up top to our forces; the group of our elite troops is waiting for you there."

"Yes sir!" Shadow and Rouge said in unison, and half-ran out of the room to their tasks while Audi returned to the control center.

Finally, as their paths parted way in the antechamber (which eventually led to all the base entrances), Shadow and Rouge faced each other.

"Good luck, Shad" Rouge said with a serious face, and pecked Shadow on the cheek.

"Same to you, my love" Shadow whispered, and quickly kissed Rouge's face, and they gently embraced each other. "See you when this is over."

"Will do" Rouge said with a wink, and Shadow, smiling at her one final time, left the room.

Eggman's fortress: borders

Here, a hidden camp was among a grove of trees next to a small, claustrophobic cave; but this camp was hidden by even Eggman's watchful eye... in fact, the technology that made it possible was made by a younger, blood-relative of his.  
In this camp, Mauve the Bat, completely safe from detection, awaited the moment he could set Mephiles free, and continue his dreadful employer's plans of destruction...


	8. Guardian Units of Nations

**Chapter Seven: Guardian Units of Nations**

*G.U.N. Headquarters; main antechamber with Agent Rouge*

Rouge, along with fifteen agents (some armed with katanas, some with heavy-round pistols) and eight mechs, stood in the antechamber that was connected to the five entrances of G.U.N.; it was the only way to get through to the rest of the Headquarters.

Eighteen agents and ten mechs guarded each entrance, and two agents per team were hidden and given sniper rifles (like what Rouge was now armed with) that could vaguely sense movement. Other than that, and the motion-trackers they had linked up to the teams, Rouge could only rely on her own natural senses to fight this unseen metallic foe.

"Agent Rouge? Are you in position?" the G.U.N. Commander asked over Rouge's communicator.

"Affirmative, sir; we are in position and are awaiting enemy stealth mechs, over" Rouge replied.

"Good. Be careful, Rouge; you've been a valuable asset to us all since you signed on... I know you can do this. Out" the commander said, and the link closed.

Rouge took the safety off her sniper rifle, and crouched behind the cover the agents had set up for her.

"Everyone, stand ready, and be on alert!" Rouge said in a loud whisper.

*G.U.N. H.Q. Surface, meanwhile; with Agent Shadow and G.U.N. elite squad*

Upon the surface, chaos reigned; thousands of G.U.N. troops were engaged with the enemy, hundreds of agents were split into sniping teams, assassin squads, medic-escorts, and support teams. The anti-air turrets nearest the enemy ships were surrounded by smaller A.A. turrets to guard them from fighters, and they were firing non-stop at the nearest ships, only taking down two or three fighters or lightly damaging a capital ship every out of the hundreds of times they fired.

Explosions reigned throughout the field like it was Armageddon, men died and mechs fell in piles...

Shadow finally had his squad assembled, and were being taken via dropship higher to the sky and into the enemy capital ship so Shadow could reserve all power for his mission instead of using Chaos Control. The ship was guarded by two fighters, and quickly zoomed high into the sky, careful not to get into the direct battle. The troops were in fairly high-spirits with Shadow leading them, but kept it quiet; their elite discipline made them be silent and seem calm and collected, despite the adrenaline within them; they conserved all energy for later; even Shadow was impressed with them.

"We're approaching Eggman's destroyer!" the pilot's voice announced over the intercom. "The fighters and making us an entrance; be ready as soon as we land, over."

"You heard the pilot, men" Shadow said calmly, taking out an automatic Uzi from a nearby weapon locker. "Time to kick ass and win G.U.N. another triumph against this metallic scum that seeks dominance. We won't let them have that, or anything... except their own demise!" Shadow said with a bit more enthusiasm, and looked at the troops as he said so. They all smiled at him, and nodded, but did nothing more (but Shadow could practically feel the excitement in the air).

"Fifteen seconds out!" the pilot said again, and Shadow glanced out the window...

Lasers and missiles rained all around in the chaotic air battle; one fighter that was escorting them was damaged, but fired every last missile they had at the sealed hangar before them, and once it was out of explosives, fired its machine gun at the door.

The other fighter fired everything it had as well, and the result was several, small holes around a certain area... but none of them nearly big enough for the dropship to enter.

In desperation, the pilot fired the ship's only heavy weapon, a missile slightly larger and more powerful than the ones fighters had, and it finished it; the door was weak enough from the fighters' bombardment, and a huge part of the door fell open, and the dropship entered.

"Men! Safeties off!" Shadow said, and all the soldiers readied their assault rifles (two had sniper rifles, and another had a shotgun). The ship quickly landed in the ship's hangar, and the hatch opened up for Shadow and the others.

"Go, go!" Shadow shouted, and they all piled out, and opened fire on a group of mechs firing at the dropship as it took off again.

"Chaos SPEAR!" Shadow shouted, and the deadly, shining energy exploded on impacting a group of mechs (the soldiers quickly mopped up what was left).

"Okay... soldiers, I've been on a ship like this before" Shadow told them, putting his Uzi on his back for now. "The easiest way to destroy it is to simply destabilize and damage the power core... but the explosion wouldn't damage many other ships."

"So how do we make it bigger?" one soldier asked. Another one spoke up.

"Easy; we can rig explosives on a timer and put them near the engine, and _then _destabilize the power core; the coupled explosions would rip the nearest ships apart!"

"That's a good idea... but that'd take too long" Shadow said with a shake of his head. "Now, my idea... if we hooked up a timer to the main cooling unit (closer to the power core than the engine), and then destabilized the core, everything would drastically overheat and expand, and all the ship's explosions would be multiplied by at least a hundred... especially while all the weapon systems are running hot."

The squad was silent a moment, considering the plan in their heads...

Then they all smiled in unison.

"That's brilliant!" the leader said, hoisting up his rifle. "Very well, agent Shadow, you lead the way! We'll cover your six!"

"Glad you agree" Shadow said with a nod, pulled out his Uzi, and they set off.

*Twelve minutes later: power core. Three minutes until detonation of cooling unit*

Now, explosives big enough to tear a Juggernaut tank into alloy ribbons was set on the cooling unit, approximately seven minutes away from the power core.

Shadow was surprised, as were the soldiers, when they reached the core; it wasn't as big as they expected it to be. It was only the size of a mini-van, and was heavily armored. Only a thin line of energy could be seen running around the outside.

"That's the weakest area on this thing" Shadow said, pointing to said line of energy. "Try to attach the charges along the line."

"I'm on it" said their demolitions expert, put on safety gloves and goggles, and approached the power core with his bag of explosives. He carefully drew his most powerful remaining charge, and began to seal it on the core, just hovering over but not touching the line of energy...

"Unacceptable: exceeds safety parameters."

Shadow and the others turned to look, and saw ten Shadow Android Mark IIs standing behind them.

"Terminate hostiles, but keep artillery and ammunition away from core!" one said, and they drew blades from their arms, and leapt at Shadow's strike team.

*G.U.N. Headquarters: Main antechamber*

Two agent teams had been successful in taking down several stealth mech teams, but Rouge had just now lost contact with Bravo Team...

"Agent Rouge? What's going on?" a young woman asked, newly graduated from the G.U.N. Agent academy.

"Bravo Team's signal is gone... shit!" Rouge cursed. "Alright... Charlie Team! Secure our entrance to Bravo Team's hallway; let nothing pass! Everyone else, keep your eyes and ears peeled!"

Charlie Team took up positions on the hallway's entrance, three agents holding up shields with heavy-round pistols being aimed down the hallway while two more agents were behind them with sniper rifles, and two more hid behind the entryway, wielding katanas.

Rouge bunkered down with her sniper rifle as well, watching Bravo Team's hall...

Suddenly, an agent fired, and the round seemingly hit solid air... but the cloak shimmered, revealing a mech's silhouette. Then the rest of Bravo Team fired, and the sheer amount of ammunition revealed over a dozen other mechs...

"Engage! Repeat; _engage_!!" Rouge shouted, and fired her sniper rifle, the round piercing through one mech and into another, killing both.

Then Charlie Team retreated away a bit, and the ones with sniper rifles threw grenades, revealing eight more cloaked mechs, and they opened fire again. But now the mechs were well aware that their disappearing act had gone to shit; they returned fire.

One agent was shot in the shoulder, and cried out.

"Medic!" another yelled, but the mechs were rapidly firing now; over thirty of them filled the corridor, and even despite Rouge's cover fire and the agents' protection, they kept coming.

Finally, the agents with the shields withdrew their guns, moved their shields so that they covered their heads, and charged forward, the ones with katanas right behind them, and smashed through their lines. With Rouge shooting the nearest ones, the katana men were able to cut down the mechs they passed through before they could return fire. They were making good progress... until a Shadow Android Mark I appeared, and fired missiles, killing all the agents in the hallway.

Thinking quickly, Rouge fired a sniper round at it, but the round only partially penetrated the Android's armor, and it looked up at the bat who had fired upon it. Then, the mech aimed its missile launcher at Rouge, and reloaded.

Rouge suddenly dropped her rifle, and ran at the Android, some of the other agents hastily giving her covering fire from the enemy mechs. Then, the Android fired its missile, and it flew straight at Rouge...

Who leapt up, did a front-flip, and while doing so, grabbed the missile, turned over, and threw it back, and back flipped away, spread out her wings, and flew out of the hallway.

The Android gave an enraged, metallic cry, and the explosion destroyed all the mechs there.

Rouge panted, and stood back up while the other agents looked at her with awe. The ivory bat picked her sniper rifle up again, and faced them.

"Well, c'mon! Don't stare all day, you dummies!" she said loudly. "I know I'm hot, but we got work to do! Charlie Team, Gamma Team? Secure Bravo Team's entrance, over?"

"Yes ma'm!" they said, and rushed down back the hall, sealed the door the mechs had breached, gave medical attention to Bravo's survivors, and held their position.

*Eggman Destroyer: Core Room*

Shadow leapt out of the way of the mech nearest him, drew out his golden, gleaming dagger, and stabbed it right in the Android's "chin."

The rest of the team drew their close-range shotguns, and fired; it kept the mechs back, but only awhile; their blades would reach the soldiers before the ammunition pierced the armor.

"Chaos SPEAR!" Shadow shouted, and blew up Shadow Android Mark IIs who were about to attack a soldier already engaged with an Android. Then Shadow redrew his Uzi, and fired on an Android that had sliced a soldier's gun in half. The distraction worked; the Android faced Shadow and charged. Shadow fired his gun at it, quickly stepping backwards to stay ahead of it. Finally, when the mech was close to Shadow and drew its blade to skewer the ebony hedgehog, Shadow drew his dagger, cut off the blade, stabbed the dagger into the Android's head, and threw the Android's amputated blade at another Android, pinning it on the wall, and allowing a G.U.N. soldier to blow off its head.

Elapsed time: 5 seconds.

Working together, Shadow and the elite soldiers gunned down the Shadow Androids, the only bad consequences being Shadow running out of ammo, one soldier losing his gun, and another being lightly slashed on the shoulder, but nothing critical.

Luckily, the demolitions expert had not been disturbed, and the charges were rigged.

"Give it thirty seconds to tick, soldier" Shadow said, surrounded by the squad as he drew out his Chaos Emerald. "We don't need much time; the cooling unit will detonate ten seconds before that."

"Got it" the man said, hit the timer, and drew back.

"Mission accomplished... well done" Shadow said, and held up the Chaos Emerald. "Chaos...CONTROL!"

*G.U.N. Headquarters; surface of G.U.N. controlled territory*

Shadow and the soldiers reappeared on the surface, taking a few men (most having seen or heard of Shadow's warping powers) by surprise. Shadow glanced up at the destroyer he and the G.U.N. troops just escaped...

And suddenly, Eggman's capital ship blossomed in flame and destruction.

The explosion quickly expanded and it was like a nuke in midair; it consumed hundreds of its own ships in every direction... during the confusion, some spun out of the way to avoid it, but were quickly gutted by G.U.N.'s anti-air turrets. The ones that did survive the explosion were motionless, just for a brief second, but the anti-air turrets boxed them in, and G.U.N.'s fleet quickly surrounded them, and forced them nearer the anti-air guns, which took careful aim, and fired like no tomorrow.

Soon, with the turrets' and the fleet's combined efforts, Eggman's fleet was decimated, only two capital ships and a dozen odd fighters managing to limp away.

Shadow smirked; it was a good day.

"That fool Eggman will never triumph here... not while I'd rather be spit in a shit bucket" he growled, turned towards the Headquarters, and walked inside.

His battle was over.

*Fifteen minutes later: G.U.N. Control room*

After a few aerial bombardments, and Omega's and Knuckles' combined efforts, Eggman's infantry was forced in retreat too. Metal Sonic's forces that once stood over 500,000 strong were now whittled down to 9,700. The commander decided to let them go; G.U.N. had lost a total of 887 capital ships and 50,000 soldiers... but Eggman had lost 9,998 ships and nearly all of his infantry.

The commander and General Audi were now putting up the official casualties onto G.U.N.'s data-board and having the wounded (1,231 troops) being tended too. The anti-air turrets were being repaired, all the invisible mech units had been found and destroyed by Rouge and the other G.U.N. agents, and G.U.N. Headquarters was safe again.

"General Audi?" the Commander said, facing the said officer. "Radio Admiral Atmos and Vice-Admiral Zackary; have them send several dropships to Sapphire Bay to pick up Soleanna's next shipment of arms and supplies. As soon as they have the supplies, have them distribute them among our ground troops that we're reserving for the attack on Eggman's fortress."

"Yes, sir" Audi said, activating a nearby communications console. "And Colonel Jackson will be leading the ground forces, sir. Shall I tell him to ready himself as well?"

"Yes, Audi" the commander said, with a slow nod. "It's time to end this damn war before Eggman gets any other bright ideas."

*Two Days Later...*

This was it.

The greatest battle in the Mecha War was about to begin... and end, for better or worse.

The greatest mobilization of a G.U.N. offensive force had been gathered; 5,000 more capital ships had joined the attack fleet, making 25,000 total; only 18,000 capital ships defended the front lines, 3,300 defended Central City's borders and the President's home, 2,500 defended G.U.N. Headquarters, which left only 1,200 capital ships thinly spread across the rest of G.U.N.'s territory.

But the commander was confident that they'd wipe out Eggman's defenses, and then without the heavy waves of reinforcements, his frontline engagement forces would collapse within days.

Sonic and Amy were traveling together with Knuckles and Tails (once the fox had prepared the blocking device for Team Dark's attack force) with two teams of agents. But Tikal, who didn't want to let Knuckles fight alone, was taking a role of a medic on the field.

Then, under slow movements, the G.U.N. Fleet, all of the troops in jeeps driving under the ships' shadows, began to advance towards Dr. Eggman's fortress.

*With Team Dark*

Shadow, who drove the G.U.N. contraband jeep with Rouge riding shotgun and Omega in the back, felt somewhat overwhelmed when he looked around at the forces with them; two Juggernaut tanks, and about five other jeeps and three or so trucks full of soldiers (with a total of thirty men and five Beetle mechs floating between the vehicles). About eight agents were with them too... but knowing this was approaching Eggman's fortress was a tad overwhelming.

Suddenly, the jeep's radio crackled to life; it was Colonel Jackson.

"Shadow?" he spoke. "You'll soon be approaching the first anti-air mech, the one that's deadly to our fighters. Don't worry; nobody's spotted you yet because of Tails' device. You'll be coming up on a hill that has a fairly large entrance on it, though; leave the vehicles and go through it so your chances of being spotted will be even lower, affirmative?"

"Copy that" Shadow said, making a slight left turn to stay on the road they were on.

"Good" Jackson replied. "Once you go through the hill-tunnel, you'll come up on a higher altitude; the anti-air mech is protected by five Shadow Androids, an Android Mark II, and about fifty standard mechs. Expect some light air support as well. Good luck, Shadow; I'll radio you once you eliminate it. Jackson out."

"Well, as long as Eggman ignores us, we'll be fine" Rouge said, leaning on her seat casually.

"Yeah... hey, don't get comfortable!" Shadow said suddenly. "The tunnel entrance is dead ahead..."

*With Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Tails*

The group had managed to battle their way through some trees that were on the same ground level as Eggman's fortress, and now stood in the clearing... but there wasn't a mech in sight, save for the ones buzzing around the fortress itself and the thousands of ships flying around it.

"Huh... nobody to answer the door?" Sonic said with a shrug.

"Hold on, guys..." Tails suddenly said, looking at his wrist scanner, and the young fox's eyes widened.

"Several huge contacts inbound!" he said, and sure enough, what looked like a slightly-less bulky Egg Emperor, a blue and red Egg-Crusher, a silver and black Egg Cerberus, and about a half-dozen other large, power-looking mechs appeared with a few dozen standard mechs standing near their feet.

"Ha! This looks like fun!" Knuckles said, standing near Tails.

"Knuckles! You cover Tails. Amy, I'll cover you, okay?" Sonic said, readying into his combat stance.

"Roger!" Amy said with a malicious grin, readying her deadly Piko-Piko Hammer.

And then, the mechs attacked.

Tails, with Knuckles hanging onto his leg, flew up, and wielding his electric force-pulse gun, fired and stunned the large mechs, and when he was high enough, Knuckles flew down in a Drill-Dive, and tore right through an Egg-Crusher's head, putting it out of commission. While Knuckles stood back up, Tails nailed the mechs nearest the echidna with some dummy-ring bombs.

Sonic and Amy, meanwhile, fought with a strong passion now that they were married, and would be going on their honeymoon as soon as Eggman was defeated.

Amy swung her hammer around, decimating the infantry mechs like a tornado of death. Sonic, while most of the mechs were still occupied, leapt up high onto an Egg Cerberus' tail, rolled into a ball, and flew with incredible speed and force at the head, knocking it dizzy.

"Tails! Nail it with your gun!" Sonic shouted, using a Homing Attack on a mech near Amy as he landed.

"You got it!" Tails shouted, charged up his gun to full strength, and shot the Egg Cerberus in where he estimated the power core was. And he was correct; the giant mech twitched, and its power died.

"Awesome shot, buddy!" Sonic yelled, smashing his fist into a mech while Amy made an Egg Emperor (weaker than the one Eggman used against them on _Sonic Heroes_ at the Egg Fleet but still formidable) stumble by smashing its foot and then hitting its knee.

So, the four of them fought on, and whenever the mechs were closing in on them, the hidden G.U.N. team would fire sniper rounds into the standard mechs or high-power stun rounds, weakening and slowing one of the larger mechs.

*Dr. Eggman's fortress of operations: Control Room*

"Hah! Sonic, you fool!" Eggman laughed. "This time, you've finally picked the wrong fight! I have nearly a million mechs here, and an aerial bombardment could easily be arranged! And once Metal Sonic rendezvous with my escort fleet and mech force and returns, you'll have to deal with him too!! At last, Sonic, you've walked into your death trap!"

But, as giddy as the infamous doctor was that Sonic picked a fight hard even by his standards, Eggman was taking no chances; he ordered two more companies of standard mechs to intercept Sonic and his friends, along with five more Egg Crushers, three Cerberuses, and four more Egg Emperors.

Then, the newly-built 2,000 ships he was going to activate, commission, crew, and arm this afternoon would join with another fleet and strike team, and Metal Sonic and some re-hired old friends would finish off G.U.N. Headquarters.

It looked like a good day as Eggman leaned into his chair comfortably, and watched Sonic fight his mechs on a view-screen.

*With Team Dark*

After Shadow, Rouge, Omega, and their G.U.N. allies had smashed through the resistance in the tunnel, they climbed a slowly inclining slope, and finally emerged into the area Colonel Jackson warned them about; Shadow spotted the tall mech walking around in a vague circle, dozens of smaller mechs (and some heavy-armor units) patrolling the area around it.

"Alright, let's do this!" Shadow said, pulling out a pistol. "Rouge; you and I will take down the anti-air mech. Everyone else, charge and decimate its guards! Agents; hold back and provide sniper and heavy-weapon cover fire, copy?"

"Understood, boss" Rouge said with a wink, spread her wings, and flew at the mech, Shadow running just eight feet below her, but keeping pace.

The rest of G.U.N., the Juggernauts moving in front, charged the guards, who opened fire on each other at the exact same time. The Juggernauts quickly aimed at their heavy armor, and destroyed all but one tank before it returned fire, blowing two soldiers to bloody bits and blowing off a chunk of armor and a gun from a Juggernaut, but the other G.U.N. tank-mech took down Eggman's heavy-armor.

The Beetle drones, meanwhile, flew near Shadow and Rouge, gunning down any mech they met along the way. Shadow, who saw a group of small, shielded mechs before him, drew his dagger, threw it so that it became impaled in one's head, and then he leapt into the middle of them.

"Chaos... BLAST!" Shadow cried, and the red surge of explosive energy wiped them all out.

Rouge, meanwhile, had reached the anti-air mech, and had kicked a fist-sized hole in its head, disorienting it.

"How'd you like this, freakatron-5000?" she mocked, and shoved a bomb into the head, and backflipped off of it. She landed gently as a leaf while the mech's head exploded, nearly hitting Shadow with some metal scrap.

"Nice job, Rouge" Shadow said with a nod as the mech fell down, but the hedgehog fired a few Chaos Spears at the gun, just to be on the safe side.

"Okay, okay, don't beat a dead horse, Shadow" Rouge said with a roll of her eyes. Suddenly, Shadow's communicator, and it was Colonel Jackson, as they expected.

"Agent Shadow, Rouge? Well done" he said. "Move to the next area; there should be a slight decline ahead of you that'll lead you to a ridge between rocks; the Juggernauts should be able to fit on it, but won't have any maneuvering room, so keep them covered, affirmative?"

"Roger that, sir" Shadow said. "Out." And he shut the comm. off.

"Damn, this is easy so far" Rouge said with a sniff. Shadow just scoffed.

"We got a mission to complete, Rouge, let's not get inflated heads just yet" he said with a frown.

"Ah, lighten up, Shad-Shad" Rouge said, punching his shoulder playfully, making the hedgehog smile.

"Fine... but let's hurry!" Shadow said exasperatedly.

*With Sonic, three minutes later*

By now, a dozen large, powerful mechs lay destroyed or deactivated around the fierce Mobian fighters, and over a hundred standard mechs lay in scrap. Amy and Tails were getting a bit tired, but still had plenty of fight in them (Sonic and Knuckles had a bit more).

"How much longer do we have to keep this up, Sonic?" Amy said, back-to-back with her husband.

"Just until Jackson tells us to pull back" Sonic whispered. "The agents will cover our retreat."

"Well, well..." a voice spoke from above, making Sonic and the others look around frantically. "Lookie hear! It's the 'fastest thing alive' and his fellow ground-walkers!! Ha!"

Suddenly, Sonic recognized the voice, but not before Tails.

"Sonic! Amy! Knuckles!" the young fox shouted, pointing above the large mechs that awaited the Mobians to attack. "It's Jet the Hawk and the Babylon Rogues!"

Sure enough, a green, gray-silver, and purple-white flash zoomed out of the sky above the mechs, and Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross zoomed in on their flying boards.

"Jet!" Sonic said with a snarl. "Working in Eggman's pocket, huh?"

The green hawk scoffed, and removed his goggles. "Of course! He pays well, and it's obvious that, with our help, he can easily beat you guys!" the hawk said, Storm and Wave chuckling afterwards.

"Yeah; you losers will be listening to _us _calling the shots!" Wave put in.

"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT, FEATHER-BRAINS!" Knuckles shouted, picked up a huge hunk of metal, and heaved it right at them.

Jet and Wave dodged it, but Storm's board was lightly nicked, knocking him back a bit.

"Get 'em!" Jet shouted, and he and Wave flew down at them, and laser-guns opened up on the flying boards, firing at Sonic and the others.

"Look out!" Tails shouted, dodging to the left and firing at them as they passed. Then, Sonic leapt up to his feet, and faced his friend.

"Tails; you take me up there, and we'll try and take them down!" he said. "Knuckles, Amy; occupy the mechs! We'll be back soon!" Sonic said, and Tails took off after the Babylon Rogues, the blue hedgehog clinging to his feet.

"Shame Tails can't carry two people for very long without getting tired" Amy said with a sigh, but quickly rejoined the fight with Knuckles, hitting an Egg Cerberus's foot while Knuckles leapt up, latched onto the large mech's head, and punched right through its eye.

Sonic and Tails, meanwhile, were having an aerial dog-fight with the Babylon Rogues; Tails forced them to keep their distance with his gun, but they often came close to hitting them.

"Tails! Try and fly a little higher and closer to them when they fly in formation!" Sonic said.

"Okay... I'll try" Tails said uncertainly, and flew about six feet higher and zoomed towards the Rouge Babylons as Jet got in the middle, Wave and Storm on either side of him.

"Hah! Easy target!" Jet said, readying his board's gun...

But suddenly, Sonic heaved himself forward, and used a Homing Attack on Wave's board, smashing it into a spiral, and leapt on.

"What?!" Jet cried, watching Wave fall to the ground (but the swallow spread her wings and landed gently). "Curse you, Sonic! C'mon Storm, let's get them!"

Now the odds were even; Sonic and Tails against Jet and Storm.

*With Team Dark*

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega were now charging straight into the mechs guarding the two large, anti-air mechs. One of the Juggernaut tanks held back, providing covering fire from a distance along with the agents and a few other troops while the majority charged with the other Juggernaut.

"EGGMAN'S MECHS DETECTED" Omega stated, readied a gun, and covered Shadow and Rouge as they battled their way through the infantry.

Shadow smashed two mechs' heads together, and blew up several more with a Chaos Spear while Rouge roundhouse-kicked eight more, and then heaved her heel into another.

"Rouge! Behind you!" Shadow shouted, seeing a Shadow Android leap up at Rouge with a blade...

But a missile from Omega blew it up in midair just as Rouge turned to see it. Shadow nodded in relieved thanks at Omega, but the E-123 model was already engaged with more mechs.

The Juggernaut tanks and several troops with rocket launchers targeted one anti-air mech, heavily damaging it and forcing it to fall off the ledge that led to the surface of Eggman's operations.

Shadow, meanwhile, eyed the other mech, who was guarded by a dozen Shadow Androids, wondering how they'd take it down.

"Agent Shadow!" a nearby soldier yelled, pointing upwards in the direction of the fortress. "Hostile air inbound!"

Sure enough, an Egg Hawk was flying towards them, carrying one heavy-armor mech, which it dropped off. The Juggernauts fired in unison with Shadow's Chaos Spear, blowing the Egg Hawk out of the sky, but the heavy-armor unit rolled forward, firing at the Juggernaut along with the remaining mechs.

"Damn it!" Shadow cursed. "We can't lose that thing!" So he charged at the mechs, firing his pistol at them as he went, but too late; the Juggernaut, and the six G.U.N. troops nearby guarding it, exploded in flame.

"Crap..." Rouge muttered, and heaved eight bombs under the tank, making an explosion large enough to tilt it up and reveal its underside...

"Chaos SPEAR!" Shadow yelled, just as Omega fired five missiles, and the explosions tore the tank apart.

The remaining Juggernaut fired at the anti-air mech, but it was taking too long... they had to move quickly before Eggman turned his attention away from Sonic...

"Omega! Gun down the mechs guarding it!" Shadow ordered. "Rouge! As soon as I take down its legs, kick it in the head and knock it down the cliff!"

"Roger that!" Rouge acknowledged, smirking. And so they complied; Omega rapidly shot down the Eggman mechs nearest the large AA mech, Shadow fired a Chaos Spear at each leg, and Rouge flew up and kicked it in the head, knocking it down the slope.

A moment later, as G.U.N. regrouped (they had six agents, twenty soldiers, and one Beetle mech remaining), Colonel Jackson called in again.

"Well done; we're done with the anti-air mechs now" he said. "Wait... hold on, stand your ground... something big is closing in on you now..."

Sure enough, Shadow and the others felt the ground rumbling.

"I think it's getting closer!" one soldier yelled, peering over some rocks. "Oh SH-" and suddenly, the soldier vanished in a large, piercing, laser beam.

"It's the Egg Prowler that patrols the anti-air defenses!" Jackson yelled. "Everyone, take cover, now!"

So most soldiers scrambled behind rubble and rocks while Shadow, Omega, Rouge, and an agent armed with a rocket launcher hid behind what used to be an Egg Hawk.

"Rouge... we have to force that thing lower before we can take down its weaker guns..." Shadow mumbled. "If we don't, even you'd be gunned down before you could board it and destroy its power core..."

"Couldn't you just warp there?" Rouge said.

"Yes, but I want to be sure everyone here will be safe while I'm on it, so we need to take down some of its lighter gun-" Suddenly, the Egg Prowler's main beam blew the last Juggernaut tank to bits, showering their cover with red-hot metal.

"Okay... Shadow, you try and draw its fire..." Rouge said carefully. "Me, Omega, and the others will try and blow off some of the guns... just don't get hit, okay?"

Rouge knew Shadow could easily dodge the guns, but some worry still crept into her voice.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" Shadow said, putting an arm on her shoulder. And when his promising ruby eyes met her aqua, she knew he would be.

"Okay... go get 'em, hot stuff!" Rouge shouted, and readied her bombs to fire while the troops and Omega readied they heavy weaponry as well.

As it turned out, Shadow was easily able to dodge the attacks, though a few G.U.N. troops got near the fire from time to time. Despite the Egg Prowler's agility, its guns couldn't hit a hedgehog fast enough to run in circles around it right after he was in their targeting reticules.

Finally, most of the light guns were taken down, and Shadow warped on top of it...

And was met by a Shadow Android Mark II.

Shadow drew his pistol, but the Android literally grabbed it, smashed it aside, and kicked Shadow onto the Prowler's deck. It was about to impale Shadow with a blade, but the hedgehog drew his dagger, severed the Android's leg, and plunged the blade into its core, killing it.

After quickly disposing of the few other mech guards, Shadow found the power core; it was lightly shielded, but a layer of titanium guarded it after that.

"No problem" Shadow said, and fired a Chaos Spear right at it. The shield melted away, and the explosion blew threw the titanium, leaving the core bare, but only lightly damaged. Shadow sighed, seeing as he'd underestimated the shield's power, and fired another Chaos Spear, sending explosions popping throughout the Egg Prowler.

"Get away! It's gonna blow!" Rouge shouted over the comm. while Shadow leapt down, and they all ran away from the Egg Prowler, which surged with red energy, and exploded in blossoming red and orange flames.

Shadow's communicator crackled to life again, and once again, Jackson spoke.

"Well done again, Shadow" he said, sounding impressed. "That'll keep future big-time reinforcements off your back. Your last target, the anti-air gun tower, is closer; you only need to pass through a supplies bunker and follow a pretty simple path."

Sure enough, looking past the rocks and slopes, there was a large gun tower similar to the ones G.U.N. had around the Headquarters, only this one was double-barreled and had looked a bit smaller... but the double-sized and compressed blast probably compromised for that.

"It's only about an eight-minute jog to the gun, Agent Shadow" Jackson said. "They have two tanks, at least three Shadow Androids of either model, and about fifteen more mechs than the position you're at now."

"Great" Shadow mumbled. "Initiating the third phase now. C'mon Rouge, Omega, troops, let's move!"

*With Sonic, about a minute ago*

By this time, Knuckles and Amy were getting fairly tired, but Sonic and Tails had just knocked Storm from his air-board, so Sonic sent Tails down to help take some of the pressure off of them.

Sonic and Jet now faced each other on their (in Sonic's case, commandeered) air-boards, watching each other.

"I see you haven't gotten any worse since our last battle, Sonic" Jet said with grudging respect. "But now, you're going down! On the ground, you might rule..." Here, Jet spread his arms widely for emphasis; "But I... _I _rule the skies and heavens, punk!"

"Hah! It's a free country, bird-brain!" Sonic said, and shot his air-board at Jet, who expertly wavered out of the way to dodge it.

"That the best you got?!" Jet laughed, and flew after the hedgehog, firing his gun.

"Crap!" Sonic cursed, and wavered and swerved to dodge the blasts. Then, Sonic slowed his board, hoping to get behind Jet and shoot him down...

But Jet anticipated this, and slammed the side of his air-board into Sonic's, knocking the blue hedgehog off. Luckily, Sonic managed to grab onto his board before falling, but Jet was flying at him at full-speed.

"Goodbye, Sonic!" Jet laughed...

But then, quickly thinking, Sonic heaved his body, giving it momentum and dodging the first blast, and then he heaved the air-board so it was upside-down, but he wasn't in any danger of falling.

Then, as Jet flew at him (but slowing down a bit so he'd have more time to aim), Sonic grabbed the board from under his feet, jumped with it, and smacked it across Jet's head, and took the green bird's air-board.

"Oh crap!" Jet yelled, frantically trying to grab Wave's board as it fell near him. Jet managed to get on it, but only in time to slow his descent before crashing near the other Babylons.

Wave rolled her eyes. "And so, another tragic failure of Jet the Hawk's brilliant planning..." she muttered.

"Shut up, Wave" Jet grumbled, dusting himself off.

Sonic, meanwhile, had re-joined the fight alongside Amy and the others, and they continued to hold and keep Eggman's attention.

*Back with Shadow*

The anti-air turret, and the last thing keeping G.U.N.'s fleet from winning the war, was now within sight. It looked even more intimidating up close. In response to its looming figure and defenses, G.U.N. had set up a sniping position among some rocks, and was firing at the Androids and other mechs while Shadow, Rouge, Omega, and the troops charged in.

"Shadow?" Jackson buzzed in. "Atmos's and Zackary's ships are closing in fast. Take out that gun; we're low on time now."

Omega, with his heavy weaponry, concentrated on the tanks while the troops dealt with the standard mechs. Shadow and Rouge concentrated on the Androids.

The mechs dealt a mighty defensive, but soon, Rouge kicked her way through the Androids, Shadow burned and sliced through his Androids, and G.U.N. overwhelmed the mechs.

Then, Shadow fired three Chaos Spears at the anti-air turret, taking down its shields. Omega and G.U.N. then fired all the heavy weaponry they had at the joint that held the barrels in place, which blew up and the gun fell apart.

It was done.

G.U.N. quickly secured the area around the air-turret, and Shadow walked closer to the edge of the cliff, where he could see Eggman's fortress in the distance (Sonic's 'distraction' was a bit more visible). Shadow, holding his dagger, glanced at Rouge, who moved in beside him. Together, they waited to see how this war would end...

Suddenly, the ground shook, and Shadow looked above him to see countless capital ships moving in at incredible speed, and fighters as thick as mosquito swarms flew between them... the most massive attack fleet since the Black Arms war.

Shadow sheathed his dagger, folded his arms across his chest, and watched the show as hundreds of dropships landed the army which pushed back the mechs near the fortress Sonic and the other Mobians hadn't gotten to.

"All ships, fire at will!" Atmos ordered over the comm., and every capital ship opened up on Eggman's fleet; first the primary propulsion cannons, then the missiles, laser and machine turrets, and then recharged their main cannons and fired again.

Eggman's fleet was suddenly lit aflame with destruction and retribution. Thousands of them exploded without even knowing G.U.N. had attacked, and the sky itself was aflame.

Finally, they turned to attack and returned fire, but it was too late; already half of Eggman's fleet was lost...

*Eggman's Fortress; lower factories*

Here, in the lower floors (floor 3 to seven) housed several mech and weapons factories that were capable of producing two dozen mechs and a new Shadow Android Mark I or II every day.

Mauve the Bat, on floor six, with eight destroyed mechs at his feet, glanced around the room, and shrugged.

"Easy enough..." he mumbled, and headed over to a console, easily hacked in with Dr. Ovator's bug, and searched...

"Hmm... secondary power... ah, here he is!" Mauve exclaimed, and the chuckled. "Oh, Eggman, you goddamn idiot... keeping a demon in cryo-stasis as a power source? That's not gonna end well..."

Mauve began to upload the file, and suddenly felt the floor shake. He looked around, and at the console, which was beeping frantically and said; "EMERGENCY; IMMEDIATE EVACUATION AND DEPARTURE PROTOCALS COMMENCING."

Mauve ignored it, and finished uploading the file. The sinister bat also uploaded security clearances, and proceeded on to find the room that contained the fortress's primary factory power...

And his employer.

*Dr. Eggman's fortress: Anti-air defense perimeter with Agent Shadow and Agent Rouge*

Eggman's fleet managed to take down a hundred G.U.N. capital ships, and only about eighty of them were managing to limp away.

It was done; G.U.N. now almost doubled Eggman's numbers. The War of Mecha was basically over, Shadow realized with a smirk (returned by Rouge).

Then, about twenty G.U.N. capital ships opened fire on Eggman's fortress while about a hundred more pursued the escaping fleet survivors... which seemed to not be going any further than the far side of Eggman's fortress. The capital ships continued to bombard Eggman's fortress, trying to penetrate the shields while G.U.N.'s infantry mopped up Eggman's ground forces (only about 60,000 of his mechs survived).

But then, the fortress actually returned fire, sending laser beams that literally sliced the nearest eight capital ships to pieces, and then a force-propulsion wave knocked about three more spinning out of control. Two of them regained their composure, but another crashed into the ground.

Suddenly, the earth around the Egg Fortress seemed to actually...

Disintegrate.

"What the hell...?!" Rouge said, staring. "The ground... its vanishing like blown-away dust!"

"Get back!" Shadow yelled as a sudden shockwave almost sent them toppling over the cliff, but Shadow yanked his wife back in time.

Suddenly, they looked back at the Egg Fortress, and saw that many floors of it had been hidden under the earth that just crumbled away. Suddenly, lights appeared around it, revealing the fortress to be in some kind of shaft...

It was then, Shadow and Rouge realized it wasn't a fortress...

It was a ship.

Suddenly, the lights under the ship flashed brightly, and a loud humming filled the air that sounded like a great surge or pressure was about to be released.

Turning away, so as the light wouldn't blind them, Shadow and Rouge listened as the Egg Fortress unleashed a surge that sent it flying into the sky that had began to turn twilight...

And it took the surviving ships with it.

The surge had knocked a few more G.U.N. ships back, crashing another, and everyone was trying to get their heads around what had just happened. Jackson, who had been on the ground, coughed up dirt and radioed Atmos.

"What the *cough* hell did Eggman do?! Did he escape?!" Jackson barked.

"...It would appear Eggman is as much of a cowardly bastard as ever, colonel" Atmos growled. The admiral sighed. "Everyone; regroup and pull out. We'll sort this out later. But be proud, troops; the day is ours."

G.U.N.'s ground forces set up a temporary camp near the anti-air turret Shadow and the others had neutralized. Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails were escorted back to their homes (after Tikal helped tend to some wounded men). Admiral Atmos left Vice-Admiral Zackary in charge of the ten thousand ships he was leaving there for now, and returned to Headquarters with the rest. After the wounded were tended to and casualties accounted for, they'd return.

But only after an hour of the camp being set up, Zackary radioed Jackson.

"Colonel! New contact incoming... unknown classification and faction" the Vice-Admiral stated.

Shadow, who was leaning against a rock, looked into the sky...

And the past was all he saw. For falling out of the night sky, was a blackened, smoking, huge remain of Mephiles' last fortress of operations;

The Aero Fortress.

And the purple, foggy taint that Shadow had seen emanate from his nemesis too often before created a similar fog around the hunk of metal that once was an unstoppable war machine. Shadow watched it fall near where Eggman's fortress once was, and crash.

"Zackary?" Shadow said over the comm. "We got trouble..."

"Eggman reinforcements?" Zackary asked.

"Worse."


	9. The Fury of Hell

**Chapter Eight: The Fury of Hell**

Shadow looked up at the sky, darkening with the Aero Fortress's smoke... and the dark, purple, noxious fumes blocked out the remaining sun. Shadow heaved a deep sigh, and kicked a nearby rock.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled, drew his dagger, and flung it blade-first into the ground. "That FUCKIN bastard's BACK!! AUGH!"

"Shadow! Calm down..." Rouge said quietly, putting a hand on Shadow's shoulder. "We'll find out what's going on... we have a huge force remaining here; we can probably beat whatever's in there..."

Shadow took a deep, shuddering breath... he forced his anger down, clearing his mind, but leaving a presence of frustration behind. Then, Colonel Jackson, two standard G.U.N. mechs flanking him, approached Shadow, his eyes on the Aero Fortress's crash site. The colonel looked tired, weathered and concerned, despite his fairly young age. The Colonel motioned to some G.U.N. troops nearby, and they approached as well and stood at attention.

"Shadow? You're not too tired I hope from your earlier mission?" Jackson asked carefully. Shadow only shook his head in reply, and finally faced the most junior member of the G.U.N. Command staff.

"We've detected hundreds of contacts... an unknown hostile" Jackson said. "They're coming from the Aero Fortress's crash site. The hostiles have eliminated three of the patrol groups (out of five) we sent to intercept them, and are trying to push their way here... but the strongest concentration of enemies is in the Fortress. We're pulling most of our troops out of here... there's something unusual about these enemies..."

"What would that be, sir?" Rouge asked, folding her arms.

Jackson was silent a moment, sighed, and said; "There was no bodies remaining of the patrol groups... but no sign of what got rid of them so quickly..."

Shadow and Rouge exchanged a glance; even in their careers, they'd never heard of something like that.

"We'd bombard the place... but it's too wide of a spread, and we need the ships to get our troops out of here... I'm going to have our mech forces and agents blockade any exits from the crater" Jackson explained. "And I'll keep a few platoons handy here to come to anyone's aid. Shadow, Rouge, I hate to ask this of you... but you two and Omega are the only ones who have a solid chance at making it to the fortress. I need you to go there, and detonate a fusion core we've detected within; it keeps the fortress at minimal power, and should do enough damage to wipe out most of our enemies."

Shadow nodded. "Understood, sir" he said with a salute (which Rouge followed up on).

"We'll send a mech squad and agent team along with you" Jackson added. "Just to take some of the pressure off of you... at least until you can get a better fix on what we're up against."

Shadow and Rouge nodded, Omega and the G.U.N. forces joined them, and they headed down along the path towards the Aero Fortress.

"How come our past problems never go away forever?" Rouge thought aloud.

"Probably because fate figures I don't have enough bullshit to deal with already" Shadow muttered.

*Eggman's flagship: Control Center*

The disheartened doctor rubbed his temples as he leaned his elbows upon the panel before him. His fleet; decimated. His army; set back almost three months of full-pressed production. His personal morale? About as low as the depths of hell.

The doctor had no choice but to pull his frontline fleet back and have some of them come to him to defend his flagship, and the rest secure his most critical factories, only three of them (that produced the greatest quantities, anyway) remaining hidden from G.U.N. The doctor sighed, and rapidly typed in orders for 1,000 ships to return to him and set up positions to defend him, and the rest split as evenly as possible to defend two of those factories. He'd send some dropships to carry as much supplies and troops as possible and send them to defend the factories.

"Metal Sonic?" Eggman asked, buzzing in his military-leading mech. "The Babylon Rogues, are they healed?"

"Well on their way, doctor" Metal Sonic replied. "The albatross was more or less unharmed anyway, and the few broken bones on the others are patched up. Give or take three days and they should be fine."

"Excellent" Eggman replied, though he felt anything but 'excellent' right now, having practically lost the war. "I'm sending you and a battalion of my mechs to secure two of my greater mech-building facilities; they're only 16 kilometers apart, so you should be able to keep your forces spread fairly evenly."

"Whatever you wish, my lord... though perhaps it would be best to pull back altogether" Metal Sonic added. "We have taken massive losses..."

"Do as I order, Metal Sonic!" Eggman sneered. "When my ships arrive, I shall have a very defensible fleet; this ship is well worth a hundred more. We can pick off smaller G.U.N. areas while we rebuild our forces, and we must do so now while we still have strength to fight! Oh, and Metal Sonic?"

"Yes, master?"

"Divert some of our secondary power and our five Chaos-power generators to our Portal-Surge engine. We need to meet up with our fleet at Mobius before we can secure our factories" Eggman said patiently.

"My lord, the Portal-Surge engine (and our artificial Chaos Emerald power sources) is still hot from our escape" Metal Sonic replied. "We're about 500.6 kilometers south of G.U.N. controlled territory, but by the time our front-line fleet meets us, it should be cooled off."

"Very well..." Eggman said with a sigh. "In fact, give it another five minutes once it's cool, just to be sure; no risks now, not when we're on the brink here."

"As my lord commands" Metal Sonic replied dully, and cut off the communication.

"Good..." Eggman said to himself, and sighed. Then, he smiled and sat up a little more sturdily. "I, Dr. Eggman Ivo Robotnik, the world's greatest genius, have secured my future victory. With my hidden of fleet near Mobius (of 15,000 capital ships), I can make a comeback at G.U.N. in a little under seven months!"

Thus, the cunning doctor, though down, was not out.

*Meanwhile; back with Team Dark and G.U.N. forces, two minutes later*

By now, Team Dark, their support team had made their way down a slightly-steep path that led down to what was once Eggman's territory. But now, it was filled with somewhat-deteriorated smoke from the Aero Fortress's crash... and something else; Shadow knew there was a purple tinge to it... like the noxious fumes he'd seen on the fortress before it crashed, but he didn't bring it up; blowing up whatever the hell was coming out of the fortress was all that mattered.

"What I want to know is" Rouge said, "How the hell the Aero Fortress, after we blew it up, managed to fly out of the ocean and land here..."

"Isn't it obvious?" Shadow muttered. "Mephiles."

"Ah Shadow, can you just hope that he's dead for two sec-" Rouge started, but then, a loud, screeching-howl pierced the air, making everyone raise (in Shadow's case, unsheathe) their weapons. Then, Rouge's ear twitched as she heard screaming in the distance...

Human screaming.

"Shadow! C'mon; some of the patrols might still be alive!" Rouge said, and ran off. Shadow, with Omega close behind him, led the mechs and agents behind his bat wife. Whatever it was that was attacking, Shadow realized, they were about to catch a glimpse of it.

Suddenly, after climbing down some rocks and heading east a little, Rouge peered ahead, and saw about eight G.U.N. soldiers and three mechs standing around some bodies... bodies of their own team.

"Shit!! W-What the hell i-is g-going on?!" one soldier stuttered, his grasp on his rifle so fear-hardened that his knuckles were white.

"Soldier!" Shadow said, saluting them (only about half of them returned it, realizing they were there). "What's your sit-rep?"

One soldier, a corporal who had his emotions a little more collected than the others, swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke; "I-I'm not certain, sir... but, I've never s-seen anything like this before!"

"Can you show us the bodies?" Rouge asked.

"AFFIRMATIVE; MAY CONTAIN VITAL BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION" Omega piped in, but the soldier shook his head.

"N-No... after we killed them, they... they just vanished, l-like they dissolved into the ground!" he said, shaking his head and getting a better grip on himself. "But, they're like... they have dark, purplish-bodies, and are about six feet tall or somewhere around there... but another patrol reported having seen flying-monsters with similar skins to these... and we saw a giant one; must've been at least nine feet t-tall!"

Shadow and Rouge exchanged another glance; these monsters sounded vaguely familiar... then Shadow remembered, and the spark in his eyes reminded Rouge as well:

These monsters were the ones that had appeared wherever Mephiles and Iblis appeared during theirs' and Sonic's battle in Soleanna against them. Only now, arriving in a ghost ship, they seemed to have become... different, somehow.

"Contact!!" a soldier yelled, and he and the rest of the patrol fired at some shady patches beyond them...

And five monsters, looking like mutated combinations of bone and rock, emerged and fired stone-like projectiles as fast as an automatic gun, nailing three troops. Four smaller, flying monsters (glowing a deep, eerie violet) emerged, and dove at the patrol, but Team Dark's support force took them down.

"Damn it!" Shadow growled, and drew his dagger. "C'mon Rouge, let's take them!"

"Right behind ya!" Rouge said. "Omega: cover the patrol!"

"Roger; engaging" Omega said, running towards the patrol and firing at the monsters as he went.

Shadow leapt and used a Homing Attack, knocking down one monster and allowing Rouge to kick right through it, killing it. Then Shadow, still air-born, leapt onto another monster, and stabbed its head with his ancient dagger. Omega and the G.U.N. forces quickly gunned down the ones Shadow and Rouge missed, and the area was secure...

But suddenly, eight more leapt out of seemingly nowhere, and one drew a dark blade, and literally ran it through a mech's torso and threw it aside. Then they ran at Shadow's group, about four of them firing more blade-projectiles.

Shadow and Rouge ran to meet them, and Shadow blew away three of them with Chaos Spear while Rouge roundhouse-kicked another, but one monster (a quadruped like a wolf), leapt at a G.U.N. agent, who went down screaming as the monster ripped the man's head off and burned him to a crisp.

"GET OFF!!" a G.U.N. soldier cried, and fired half a clip of ammunition at the monster, finally killing it.

But more came; at least a dozen. Shadow, Rouge, and Omega kept most of them down with G.U.N.'s support, but another mech and soldier were quickly killed. And while Shadow sliced a monster's leg off and kicked it so hard its head cracked, Rouge noticed one of the dog-like monsters standing near a fallen soldier.

"Shadow! Look!" Rouge said, pointing, and Shadow stared in horror at what was happening; the monster was transferring some kind of energy to the corpse's shadow (although thin in the bleak sky, was still mildly visible), and suddenly, the body disintegrated, and disappeared into the shadow...

And another monster, shaped exactly like the soldier's body (but with the dark, purple, glowing stone-like texture) arose.

"Oh my God..." Shadow muttered. "Get it!!"

G.U.N. opened fire on the monsters, and quickly killed them while Team Dark mopped up the rest. Rouge kicked a final flying monster in mid-air, landed, and faced Shadow.

"C'mon, Shad" she said seriously. "The sooner we blow up these goonies, the better."

"Agreed" Shadow muttered darkly.

*Five Minutes ago; in space around Earth's orbit; Black Arms Comet-vessel*

Orbiting just on the fringes of satellite detection, a fleet of over a hundred Black Comets (though smaller than the one Black Doom had brought here several years ago) stood in a staggered-line formation. Each one carried several thousand Black Arms soldiers of every unit; standard, tunnelers, giants, elites, flying, even a few Black Bulls. One Black Comet, slightly larger than the rest (and carried about a thousand more soldiers than the rest) spear-tipped the fleet, and its commander was the one who led this formidable force; Black Fist (if, you recall, was the leader Mephiles staged to lead some flying fortresses to attack G.U.N. Headquarters) sat upon the throne of the Comet's commander (whom, normally, only Black Doom sat in since these thrones were only on his personal vessels).

Black Fist, who had escaped with an odd two or three hundred of his people, had fled away from Earth, and looked for the other pieces of the empire Black Doom forged.

Black Doom, who had brought their largest and most heavily-packed Black Comet to Earth and begin the Black Arms' occupation, Black Fist now realized, had used them. Black Doom had, years ago (when the Black Arms lost their planet due to a nameless fear), brought the survivors together, and showed them how they could sustain themselves in comets, which became their new homes. Over the years, the Black Arms' strength grew, and they conquered over a dozen systems, taking their resources and becoming stronger. But then, Black Doom left, saying he had an important errand in a far-off planet. About ten years later, he returned, and said that a new planet, full of life, could be their new homeworld; they had a species there that could act as useful power sources.

Black Fist, only a junior officer at the time, didn't want a new world, much less to take it away from someone, but it was better than floating in space on a rock all his life, he admitted. So, forty years later, Black Fist became a general, and was chosen among those who would go to Earth with Black Doom and secure their homeworld for the rest. Black Fist was given an audience to Black Doom, their exalted "savior" and leader, and asked Black Doom how Earth was ready for their domination.

Black Doom had replied that, fifty years ago, he secured a deal with a native being of that planet, and they had developed the Ultimate Weapon (which Black Fist now knew as "Shadow"), which would destroy the planet's resistance from the inside out.

But then, as the human defenders (though fairly primitive compared to them still had decent technology and weapons understanding) pushed back the Black Arms, and Black Doom hurled alien after alien at them, trying to beat them, Black Fist learned that Black Doom was careless; the savior had become a tyrant. Black Doom was wasting his people for some selfish cause, but nobody knew why. And even worse, Shadow turned against the Black Arms, killed hundreds of them, and ended up killing Black Doom and destroying the Black Comet they brought, scattering several thousand survivors, whom Black Fist rallied.

Black Fist (who earned this title after keeping the surviving Black Arms' alive and together for over two years), then realized that Black Doom had only desired power; that the Black Arms had been his pawns to build his empire, and that the Black Arms' losing their planet gave the being a chance to lead them and dominate life, and to collect the Chaos Emeralds, and rule as the Ultimate Doom; Devil Doom.

But later, after Shade the Echidna had brought them to his master, Mephiles the Dark, and had united the Black Arms with other factions, Black Fist had realized he'd been duped again; Mephiles cared just as little (if not _less)_ than Black Doom had about the Black Arms' wellbeing. So, after Black Fist's forces were defeated at G.U.N. Headquarters, the commander of them took his personal guard (the only ones who preferred to follow him instead of Mephiles) and rejoined the Black Aliens who had waited so long for his return. Now, Black Fist was leading an expedition back to Earth, but not to conquer it. He led them there to find Shadow the Hedgehog, but not to avenge Black Doom; rather to somehow thank the powerful being for ridding them of a tyrant and opening Black Fist's eyes that even the greatest of heroes can be manipulated.

After Black Fist learned more about Mephiles, and what had happened to his original home, he learned the same, cruel fate possibly awaited Earth, which was why he returned...

*With Black Fist: Black Comet Command Throne*

"Black Fist! We are steadily approaching the planet's atmosphere!" one alien of the Comet's crew spoke up. "But the Comets won't survive the transition into the atmosphere; we need some sort of shield or rapid-transport mechanism!"

"Acknowledged" Black Fist replied. "Continue to monitor their happenings now that we're closer, and prepare our troops for ground-landing."

"Roger that!" a Black Alien replied.

"My lord!" another alien spoke up. "We're reading hundreds of contacts below; human, mechanized, and Mephiles-spawn."

"This is the place..." Black Fist said quietly, looking at a holographic image of the land below him via a pad powered by Black Arms gaseous-fuel (like what emanates from the Black Comets). "It looks like the humans have done a great deal of excavating here; there's an enormous crater in which those horrible worm-spawn are coming from, but it couldn't have been from the crash... Black Arms! Sit-rep!"

"Sir!" one said, who had been monitoring this place's activities ever since Earth was within visuals. "The human military known as Guardian Units of Nations, according to our reports, just led an attack on this area, which had been a natural, circular valley in which their human-enemy, Doctor Robotnik, had made his base. The humans' allies, the Mobians, helped them push the scientist away, and Mephiles' monsters, who managed to power up a scrap of a large, metallic vessel, flew it from the sea and crash-landed here, and are starting to kill off the humans' presence. The Ultimate Weapon, and two other Mobians of natural-making, are trying to find a way to the vessel's crash site and detonate via its engine-core."

"Will their plan work?" Black Fist asked calmly.

"Almost certainly, sir" the Black Alien replied. "It shall stop the monsters' reinforcement source, at least."

"Very well..." Black Fist said thoughtfully. "Deploy fifteen of our standard troops, eight of our elites, and three of our giants to assist The Weapon, and send ten giants and eleven of our elite soldiers to secure the crashed machine; if this infestation is wiped out, we can continue to search for Mephiles, who is certainly still here..."

"Yes, my lord!" another Black Alien replied, and went to another officer.

"Deploy our ground forces, stat!" he barked, and the alien complied.

*Back with Team Dark: eight minutes ago*

By now, Shadow and his team had rallied sixty four G.U.N. troops and twenty mechs into two, even attack groups that acted as hit-and-run teams to intercept any monsters that might be trying to make their way out of the crater.

Shadow wasn't encouraged, though, knowing that there had been over 200 infantry troops down here to begin with, even if they were in smaller, more scattered groups. And by now, Shadow's, Rouge's, and Omega's support team had dwindled down to two mechs and three agents, the rest having been consumed by this new, awful foe. The only good news was that the Aero Fortress was within sight; they only had about another eleven minutes of half-jogging and fighting left until they got there.

"Contact!" Rouge shouted, and they all drew their eyes at where she indicated.

Certainly enough, about five giant monsters loomed out of the foggy darkness, and picked up giant, glowing rocks of energy, and heaved them at Shadow and the others.

"Look out!" one agent yelled, and they all leapt out of harm's way.

"Chaos SPEAR!" Shadow shouted, and his hand spat out four, lancing, golden spears of energy the collided and killed three of them and wounded another. Rouge then followed the attack up with a volley of bombs, finishing off one while Omega gunned down the last one.

"Wow..." one agent said in awe. "Thank Jesus you guys are-" But he didn't get to finish his sentence; a dark, short blade (which the monsters fired like ammunition) now protruded from his chest.

"What the-?!" Shadow yelled I surprise, and they fired at more monsters that appeared behind them. Suddenly, about eight of the wolf-like monsters leapt in the air, and pounced on all the mechs and agents...

And one landed on Shadow.

"GET OFF!!" Shadow snarled loudly, and thrust his dagger into the beast's throat, and kicked it off. The ebony hedgehog finally got back to his feet, and just in time to blow up several more monsters with a Chaos Spear. Sighing in relief that his enemies were down, Shadow looked around him...

And saw that he, Rouge, and Omega were the only survivors of the strike team Jackson had sent to destroy the Aero Fortress.

"DAMN IT!" Shadow cursed, and punched some nearby rubble, sending cracks upon it. "How many must I fail to protect?! How many must die before it ends?!"

"Calm down, Shadow" Rouge said, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder. "There wasn't anything we could've done; we were all occupied, and they took us by surprise..."

"I suppose you have a point... for yourselves" Shadow growled, ignoring Rouge's now-irritated expression. "But I'm the Ultimate Life Form, damn it! I'm supposed to be better than this!"

Rouge sighed, glancing at Omega, who offered only a shrug. The ivory bat sighed again, and faced Shadow.

"Hey, Shad... at least things can't get any worse, right?" she said.

"Speak of the devil..." Shadow growled, and jerked his head at the sky...

Which had suddenly gone darker, and glowed with a faint, red light as a hurricane opened up in the clouds, and suddenly, a hundred Black Alien flying-fortresses flew out. Then, they flew in a thin-line formation and covered the skies above the crater.

*With Colonel Jackson: Aboard G.U.N. airship-destroyer with Admiral Atmos on destroyer; _Justice of Retribution*_

"Damn it all!" Jackson said, seeing the hundreds of Black Arms fortresses appear. "The absolute last thing we need now is another enemy... and one with such great numbers, at that!"

Atmos faced his colleague. "Are your men evacuated off of the site, colonel?" he asked, trying to sound calmer than he felt.

"Most of them, sir" Jackson said with a sigh. "But I still have some strike teams down in the crater, trying to keep the monsters from spreading out of the Aero Fortress, as well as a mech platoon, a human platoon, and an agent team securing what's left of our camp down there, trying to help coordinate the defense. And, as I told you Admiral, Team Dark is down there was well, trying to reach the fortress."

"Well, crap a mile" Atmos muttered. "So our absolute best agents/soldiers are right in the middle of that hell-hole?!"

"It would appear so, Admiral" Jackson said with a sigh. "If you'll send a group of fighters, I can send in some dropships to try and pick them up before the Black Aliens make landfall..."

But then, an officer who ran the communications on _Justice of Retribution _spoke up.

"Admiral? We're getting a radio transmission from their flagship... er, fortress. Shall I patch it through?"

"Might as well, lieutenant" Atmos said with a nod.

Then, a deep, strong, and intelligent voice crackled through the ship's speakers.

"_Humans, please, take heed of this message I'm sending to aerial and ground forces: we mean no harm. This is Black Fist, commander and leader of the surviving Black Arms Empire. We are pursuing the monsters on the Fallen Aircraft. We're sending support groups for your forces. Do not fire on us, for we shall not waste a single round upon you, the Mobians, or the artificial life form, the Weapon."_

Quite surprised by this (attempted) friendly call, Atmos faced Jackson.

"Tell your men not to engage the Black Aliens unless fired on first" he told him. "And have all of our fighters on the ship's deck warmed up. Lieutenant Crawford? Radio in capital ship group Beta, and tell them to form up with us, and keep the fortresses in sight, just in case they're not so friendly. Have Vice-Admiral Zackary take the rest of our ships back to H.Q. and await orders from the commander."

"Sir?" Jackson said, now clearly irritated. "You don't seriously believe those animals might be sincere, do you? They killed thousands of troops, and even more civilians in the last war with them! And a faction of them are with Mephiles!"

"Of course I don't think they're sincere" Atmos replied. "But I might as well give them a chance to _make_ me believe them; we need some help, after all."

*Meanwhile, with Team Dark: Dr. Eggman's abandoned territory*

Shadow was just finishing listening to Black Fist's message, his brows furrowed, and he looked up to see a group of Black Aliens (standard, elite, and giant; the group Black Fist had sent to assist Shadow and his team) landing. Shadow's lips curled in a loathing sneer.

"Maybe I should just kill them anyway..." he hissed, his hand unconsciously drawing out his dagger.

"Trust me, Shad, I'd love to too; those bastards have been murderers since we first saw them" Rouge said, staring at the Black Aliens. "But we don't have time; we need to destroy the Aero Fortress once and for all before these monsters spread out more."

Omega nodded. "AGREED: PRIORITY OVERRIDE OF BLACK ALIEN TERMINATION" he chimed in.

Shadow heaved a sigh. "Whatever... but first sign of hostility from them, I'll cut a swath through them."

Then Shadow and his team walked towards the Black Arms forces, and amazingly, they all bowed lowly, and knelt their heads.

"Shadow, the Ultimate Weapon and slayer of our manipulative tyrant..." one Black Arms elite said, and raised his head so he could see Shadow. "Our leader, Black Fist, has ordered us to obey your orders; we are to escort you to the Fallen Aircraft, and cleanse out this abomination!"

Shadow nodded, and just walked on. But as he and his team passed, the Black Arms rose and followed him.

"Shields! Take point!" the Black Alien (who had spoken to Shadow) said. "Two giants, get directly behind them. Giants, elites, watch our flank!"

So, Team Dark and their new support group moved on. They were almost immediately attacked by a fresh wave of monsters, but the Black Arms were up to the job; the Giants easily smited them back, and the standard Black Arms shielded the group from attack whilst the elites returned fire. Then Team Dark pooled in their efforts, and the monsters were driven back.

And so, with other small groups of Black Arms troops assisting and protecting the G.U.N. forces within the battle zone, the alliance was official.

*Five minutes later: Aero Fortress crash site*

Shadow, Rouge, Omega, and the Black Aliens (two standards, one elite, and one giant having fallen to the monsters) now stood near some metallic rubble that surrounded a large, smoldering crater (within a crater...) that surrounded a large, minimally-functional part of the Aero Fortress.

"Look! More enemies!" Shadow said, indicating with his drawn dagger. "I'd say at least fifty of them on ground, and ten flyers; looks like some sort of last stand to keep us away."

"Yep" Rouge said, and drew out a bomb. "Omega? Take down the air-flyers."

"Agreed" Shadow stated with a nod of his head. "Elites? Draw swords, except for two of you, and have them fire on the flyers with Omega. Standards, keep us shielded until we're close, and then have the giants charge in."

"Understood, Shadow" the Black Alien elite leader said. "Obey the Weapon's will, Black Arms!"

So the Black Arms and Team Dark set into formation, and the monsters were gunned down. Shadow, Rouge, and the Giants broke rank and decimated what was left, and they ran on an uphill slope of metal which led to a deep hole within the Aero Fortress.

"Black Fist sent a strike team in to try and secure a path for you, Shadow" the Black Alien elite said. "But we've lost contact with them..."

"Then we'll finish what they started" Shadow said. "Judging from all this dark energy emanating from the fortress's interior, the infestation will be quite strong in there. Black Arms, have the giants and standard troops secure our exit here. Elites, come in with us and secure the area immediately down there."

"Understood" the Black Alien said, and he, the other elites, and Team Dark approached the hole while the others took up defensive positions.

"We _always_ run into such nice places" Rouge said with mock pleasantness, gazing down into the smoldering fumes of dark energy. Shadow smirked in agreement with her sarcasm.

"Alright Team, let's go!" Shadow said, and leapt down. Omega went next, then Rouge (who gently glided down), and then the Black Arms elites.

The Aero Fortress's interior was only vaguely familiar to Shadow; the metal walls were of the same design, but dark, smoldering stalactites and stalagmites of similar texture to Mephiles' stone-like, demon body had spread a sort of thick growth along the walls, and hundreds of spots in the growth that were like shallow, circular holes marked where the growth had reached full power, and emerged as a monster.

"Contact!" Rouge shouted, and heaved a bomb at a group of monsters who were charging them.

Shadow growled, and raised his hand as the Black Arms elites opened fire. "Chaos SPEAR!" Shadow shouted, and the energy collided explosively, destroying what was left of them, and melting some more growth off of the walls.

"Elites; keep this area secure" Shadow said. "Me and my team will continue to the engine core this place holds, set a timer to it, and then have your leader send a vessel to pick us up."

"Understood, Shadow" the leader said, and Team Dark continued on.

*With Black Fist: flagship-fortress*

Black Fist, who had left the comets in space under relatively light guard (for few foes on this planet could oppose the entire Comet fleet in space; only a handful of newly-built G.U.N. flagships could go so much as a thousand miles outside of the atmosphere and maintain fairly-normal gravity), was now surrounded by heavy guard on the largest, most aerial battle-readied fortress in the Empire he now led. The fortress, surrounded by ten others (and hundreds of Black Hawks and the Black Arms single-craft fighters equivalents; larger, faster, and more enduring versions of Black Hawks called Obsidians) flew above the battleground. But dozens of reports kept coming in, saying that despite the help, G.U.N. was hard-pressed to keep the monsters from spreading, and had now all regrouped to a final-stand area that would allow them and their Black Arms allies to keep all exits out of the crater secured, but they'd be more hard-pressed than ever.

So, sighing, Black Fist made a very, very difficult decision, and faced one of his officers.

"Have our fortresses cover the entire crater, and prepare for terrestrial bombardment" Black Fist said heavily. "Yes, our own troops are down there, and yes, so are our human allies, but we cannot allow the monsters to spread; even if the Weapon's mission goes well, it will not wipe out the hundreds of monsters that have spread out and multiply with every soldier they kill. As soon as we receive word Shadow has reached the engine core, contact their aerial-commander and tell him our plan."

The Black Alien hesitated, then nodded and went to carry out his orders.

*Back with Team Dark: Five minutes later*

Having killed at least fifty monsters each, Shadow, Rouge, and Omega now stood in the engine core, only lightly touched by the monsters' consumption; most of the metal walls were uncovered, and a few control panels still flickered with power, keeping the engine core and other systems running at minimal power.

"Black Arms; we've reached the power core. Setting explosives and timer" Shadow said over his comm. whilst Rouge went to work.

"Very good, Shadow... wait, we're receiving word from our commanders..." the elite said, and there was silence. Finally, as Rouge finished placing all the explosives into the engine core's cooling unit and was setting the timer for them, and the engine's overload sequence, the Black Arms finally contacted Shadow again.

"Shadow... a fortress is approaching to pick us up" the elite said. "I can already see one for us, and one of your military's ships are coming to retrieve you... but as soon as we're out of here, our fortress-fleet is going to burn away the entire area around the Fallen Aircraft."

Shadow's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" he snarled. "You backstabbing bastards!! You're going to kill at least a hundred of our troops! We can still hold them and they can await pickup!"

"No, Shadow... Black Fist's logic is clear: if we burn the infestation while they're still contained, we're guaranteed safety of them. If we continue to try and hold them, the monsters will likely force their way out and spread their evil to your world."

"Like hell I'd let them!" Shadow growled. "Atmos won't let this happen! His fleet will decimate yours-"

"Shadow, your aerial commander agrees; this provides the least risk" the elite said somberly. "Don't forget; we're losing our soldiers too."

Shadow glanced at Rouge, who had clearly heard what was going on, and the bat's ears drooped down, and she sighed.

"I don't know anymore, Shadow" she said sadly. "This whole fucking war has made things hectic... I don't wanna let those men and women fighting for us get killed, but that's what they signed up for."

"As if they could grasp signing their own death contracts" Shadow muttered, but closed off the link to the Black Arms, and looked through the large hole in the ceiling, and saw a G.U.N. dropship up above. A Black Hawk then came down for each of them, lifted them up gently, and flew them onto the dropship, and it flew off.

Soon, the engine core detonated and sent a massive explosion out as Shadow watched, no doubt killing many, many monsters. But the ebony hedgehog forced himself to watch in silence as he saw the Black Arms fleet begin to burn every last grain of dirt and sand, every blade of grass and tree that Dr. Eggman once called his fortress grounds... along with the brave men and women, humans and aliens, who remained down there.

"When they say 'war is hell'... they don't know the half of it" Shadow said darkly, and finally tore his eyes away from the receding ground, sat down, leaned next to his wife, and rested his eyes.

Rouge then noticed Shadow snoring softly next to her, and she leaned the hedgehog's head so that it rested on her shoulder. She nuzzled her husband's magnificent quills, and kissed his forehead. Omega, who sat across from Rouge, was completely oblivious.

"You push yourself too much" the ivory bat said softly, stroking Shadow's cheek. "Thank God you finally gave up on your sleepiness..."

"Rouge? This is Admiral Atmos, come in" Rouge's comm. crackled.

"Agent Rouge, go ahead, sir" the bat said softly.

"The pilot will be bringing you and your team to my flagship, _Justice of Retribution _soon" Atmos told them. "We're then leaving with the Black Arms back to G.U.N. Headquarters, so that the G.U.N. Command staff can meet with Black Fist and hold a meeting; it seems there's more going on than we know. Understood?"

Nothing was really understandable, right now, but Rouge still replied; "Yes, sir."

"Good. Atmos out."

*Dr. Eggman's Flagship, in distant orbit of Earth system, Ten minutes later: Secondary Power Room*

Mauve the Bat had set off a device that blinded the mechs' sensors in this room, and was now headed for his goal on the other side of the room, concealed by large, titanium doors: the secondary power source. Mauve dodged and weaved around the mechs who ran/guarded the room and its systems. Finally, the bat made his way to the controls directly linked to the power source that ran the small-scaled mech factory within this enormous ship, and assisted the primary power source if it even hinted at giving way.

The sinister bat cracked his knuckles, and set to work hacking. Eggman's firewalls were thorough, but Mauve finally accessed the door's systems...

Only, he realized, they weren't so much doors as they were reinforcement...

"'To further insure his containment'?" Mauve muttered from the system's description, one of his eyebrows arching. "Eggman... he's a demon: metal isn't going to help much if he figures a way out in the first place." Then, Mauve smirked. "But, my job is simply to make someone else's job easier..." Then the bat hit his communicator, and Shade the Echidna answered it.

"Shade here, go ahead Mauve" the echidna answered.

"Shade, I've reached the secondary power source room" Mauve said in a low voice. "Your... er, _our _master is almost definitely here. I'm ready to open the outer containment wall, but the cryo-stasis containment protocols are absolutely frozen: Eggman had no intention of ever accessing it again, so basically, it's impossible to get to."

"As I expected, Mauve" Shade replied. "Go ahead and release the outer containment wall. According to our master's knowledge, there are generators on the exterior of the ship that power the cryo systems and their containment abilities. Once you've downed the outer wall, hit a black gem-like button on the bottom of your communicator."

Here, Shade's voice grew sly. "Once you do, simply say; 'The Dark One has been located', and you'll get both help to release Mephiles and a way out. Until the help arrives, though, stay put. Shade out."

Mauve grinned widely to himself, and punched in the sequence required, and the large, metal doors slowly began to slide apart (the mechs in there were oblivious).

Even the easy-going bat was held in awe as the doors opened to reveal Mephiles the Dark, frozen into stasis by cryo and ice of a temperature of over -250 Celsius. Some energy, however, ran through wires that acted as restraints beneath the ice to silence any effort to break through it.

Then, Mauve hit the black Gem under his communicator, and said; "The Dark One has been located", ducked behind some supply crates, and waited.

*Unknown area: exact time of Mauve's message broadcast*

It was time.

There was no mistake: the call to the final crusade had been given.

It was time... time to make the rivers of blood flow once more...

The Lost Ones had been called to arms.

Hades heard it first as he stood within some dark, grassy plains nearby some lions he had just used to start a wildfire. The dark being's head jerked up, and his body glowed with dark power as he understood his next course of action.

"Hear me, O' Lost Ones! The time has come! This is Hades; mobilize!!"

Then, in an area where she had melted and intoxicated an entire orphanage with her poisonous fumes and noxious acid, Nadrina too looked up.

"Yes, Hades: Nadrina comes to kill once more!" she cried into the sky, seemingly melted into a dark liquid, and shot up into the clouds like a jet, leaving a vapor-trail of dark energy as she went.

Then Devabrawn, still pleased with how easily he had destroyed the human airbase, heard the call to spill blood, consume life, and burn.

"Devabrawn inbound to our glory!" he yelled, and like Nadrina, shot off into the sky to join his brethren.

All over the world, the Lost Ones were gathering.

"Consumar, lusting to fill my thirst for what I spill!"

"Bane is prepared to cut down all who oppose our cause!"

"Xar the great shall control and destroy the minds of all!"

"I, Sparxan, shall consume the universe of mind and will!"

"I will shatter even the greatest of our enemies' weapons! For _I _am Izar!"

"Their duty and destiny must be torn apart! Hurratore shall see to that!"

The Lost Ones all flew in a dark formation now, Hades at their spear-tip, and he cackled like a smoldering flame as they flew up, darkening whatever clouds they passed.

"All hail Lord Mephiles!!"


	10. Unity or Death, Return of Mephiles

**Chapter Nine: Unity or Death/Return of Mephiles**

*Black Arms Fortress-Flagship: Command Bridge. Eight hours after Aero Fortress's destruction: Above G.U.N. Headquarters.*

Black Fist, ten Black Arms elite bodyguards, the G.U.N. Commander (with his Beetle-mech guards), five agents, Admiral Atmos, Vice-Admiral Zackary, General Audi, Colonel Jackson, and Team Dark now stood around a glowing table that Black Fist constructed to assist in his war plans. The commander and Black Fist had been speaking in private almost an hour before the others joined for the meeting, and there was a tense feeling in the air as the commander, Atmos, Jackson, and Team Dark glared at the Black Arms, who seemed oblivious, even when Shadow stroked his dagger's handle for emphasis.

"Well, commander of the humans, I can't say you'd be happy to see us... despite the help we've lent recently" Black Fist began formally, standing up straight with his hands clasped behind his back. The commander's eyes shimmered coldly, and Jackson gritted his teeth, knowing full well that 'help' had killed over 120 of their soldiers and mechs.

"But, we must put the past behind us; let's not forget it was _you_ and the Mobians who won the war, after all" Black Fist continued. "And while we cost you casualties, you killed our leader, and disbanded us, and it was only he who had wicked intentions against you; the rest just followed his orders."

"Just get on with what you wanted us here for" the commander said coolly, his eyes never leaving Black Fist's, who nodded.

"Very well... as you may have suspected, my people and I have encountered these monsters before" Black Fist began, "And as you may also suspect, these beasts are the spawn of Mephiles."

"No shit" Shadow scoffed, but was silenced by a glance from the commander. The hedgehog looked at Rouge, who smiled sheepishly and shrugged. Then Black Fist continued.

"Well, as Black Doom made clear in his campaign on your world, we were in need of an energy source... and a planet" Black Fist said, making Shadow, Rouge, and the G.U.N. officers exchange quick glances. "For the Black Arms original home-world, you see, was consumed by these same monsters... the evidence is now too strong to ignore now that we know what Mephiles is, and what he can do..."

"So where _is _Mephiles now?" Colonel Jackson asked, beating Shadow to the question. The young officer's eyes narrowed in maliciousness. "You're not hiding him, are you?"

"Colonel! Please, let their leader finished" the commander said (not too sharply).

"So, when we learnt that Black Doom had misled us, desiring only an empire and power to himself, and to consume the universe to feed his lust, and that Mephiles had more or less done the same, we made the connections. Humans, Mobians... Mephiles plans to consume _your_ planet, now."

Black Fist sighed, and leaned on the table a bit. "The force he infested the Fallen Aircraft with is only a tiny fraction of what he's about to unleash, and even that was difficult for you to deal with..."

"You know what's _really_ difficult to deal with?!" the Commander said softly, harshly. "Knowing I'm listening to you for advice after you just killed over a hundred of my soldiers whilst they couldn't so much as lift a finger to save themselves! Don't tell me what's difficult for _me_, alien!"

"You are not _listening_, you fool!" Black Fist, and his voice went even graver and colder than the commander's. "A _single_, solo one of these monsters can annihilate _all_ life in our universe! I could've burnt your entire world in my hunt to destroy Mephiles, but I have not for several reasons; I respect you and your defiance against the fiend. Two; Mephiles cannot be killed by any means we have. Three; we shall need every last ally we can get for the coming storm."

The commander sighed, and nodded. "So why choose us for your allies, then?" he asked. "Why not just let Mephiles consume us while you build up your forces and gain other allies?"

Black Fist shook his head. "Did you not hear? Our own world was consumed by this monster; we would not wish that fate upon anybody except Mephiles himself."

Shadow folded his arms in skepticism. "So why do you think Mephiles is marshalling an army as we speak, then? What makes you so sure?" he asked.

"Because, if he has not appeared in so long as your commander told us..." Black Fist said darkly, "He is planning something, marshalling a force of some kind... and we will need to marshal ours. The doctor you have been battling? He would be an invaluable ally..."

"Whoa, whoa, WHOA!!" Rouge interrupted, holding up her hands. "I wanna be ready for a monster attack just as much as anybody, but working with _Eggman_?! Shit, that's a lot to ask, considering he's wiped out cities and countless people!"

"I agree" General Audi added. "General Catherine and I have lost hundreds of young people in that war; I'll not be seen groveling for help from that bastard."

"Yes, I know" Black Fist said impatiently. "But he worked alongside you towards the end of our campaign; I'm sure he'll want to assist you in preserving your world... if only for the sake to establish his empire."

"True..." Shadow said thoughtfully, but Zackary shook his head.

"Eggman will not be easy to find..." he said thoughtfully. "He's likely on the fringes of space after his escape..."

"Admiral, Black Fist..." the Commander spoke up, "Listen; Atmos, take your flagship and its guard along with the Black Arms' fleet. You should be able to reach Eggman as long as he hasn't left the solar system. Black Fist? Once you return, Colonel Jackson, General Audi, and the rest of my command staff and I can help you prepare for a massive attack; we have a fortress within G.U.N. territory that can be of great help to us."

"Very good..." Black Fist said slowly, "But there's something else I must notify you of; the monsters that Mephiles spawns? There are several among them, much more like Mephiles than the rest, that are very dangerous..."

The Black Alien looked up to face the G.U.N. Commander. "According to the data you've allowed me to see on that one G.U.N. facility's destruction... as you concluded, yes, Mephiles' monsters had a hand in it... but one of these monsters, and one alone was responsible..."

"What? What do you mean?" Shadow asked suddenly. "Who are they?"

Black Fist sighed, and exchanged some somber looks with his guards before answering.

"They call themselves the Lost Ones... chiefly because they, like Mephiles, are pieces of Satan lost during his decent into hell" Black Fist said. "But they, unlike Mephiles, are not as self-sustaining; only by being at least as close to Mephiles as being on the same planet, being in the presence of a large monster infestation, by killing off things/causing destruction, or by being with one another can they take their full form, power, and thrive. Also they, unlike Mephiles, can be killed... but only by either destroying a great deal of their body-mass, or striking them with high-levels of Chaos Energy."

Shadow nodded, subconsciously stroking his dagger's hilt. "So... where are they now, do you suppose?" he asked, and folded his arms again.

"Searching for Mephiles, most likely... if he's sound their call to gather and fight, something terrible is inevitable" Black Fist said, and sighed heavily. "They have deadly, powers, Shadow, and Chaos Spears won't do much more than hurt them a bit or drive them back; we're talking about a Chaos-Blast-crammed-into-a-Chaos-Spear strong."

"What about a Chaos Lance?" Shadow pursued.

"Perhaps, but only through the head; anything short of that they could probably survive" Black Fist replied.

There was silence awhile as the humans, Shadow, and Rouge let this sink in. Finally, the Commander broke the silence.

"Shadow, Rouge; go and gather Sonic and the other Mobians we work with and take them to Angel Island; ask Knuckles if you can use the Master Emerald to go back to Mobius; see if there's an army you can assemble there. I'll send Omega to Central City, link up with our forces there, and get a sit-rep." the Commander said.

Shadow and Rouge saluted, and left the room.

"Vice-Admiral?" the Commander said, facing Zackary. "Take your own flagship, gather a fleet of our own ships, and as many dropships as each ship can hold; we're beginning a mass evacuation. I want every civilian area cleared and transported to the fortress I spoke of; I'll have Audi send you the coordinates once you've picked them up. I'll have General Catherine announce this world-wide, so they'll have time to gather their belongings. Admiral Atmos? Take your ships here and join the Black Arms fleet; as soon as you receive the order, we're leaving. Colonel? Return to the Headquarters; I'm having you and Sub-Commander Elaine marshalling all G.U.N. ground forces. Empty the Headquarters, and draw another 50,000 soldiers, and another 70,000 mechs into Central City to guard the President. Atmos? As soon as you return, send another 100 capital ships there as well; I'll go and speak to the President of these matters. As soon as I can get his approval, Zackary, begin the evacuation."

The command staff saluted, and went about their duties. Then, only the Commander, his Beetle mechs, two agents assigned to guard him, and the Black Arms remained in the room. The human Commander faced Black Fist, gazing intently at his new ally.

"We're allying with old enemies against a greater enemy..." the Commander stated casually. "So... it's unity or death for us then, is it?"

The Black Arms leader nodded somberly. "It would appear so, good sir" he said lowly.

"Very well... Atmos should be ready soon; feel free to leave whenever you like" the Commander said, and finally left the room.

*G.U.N. Flagship, _Justice of Retribution's _bridge: Fifteen minutes later*

Admiral Atmos returned the salutes of the ship's command crew as he stood upon the ship's captain podium, which overlooked the entire bridge. He sighed, and looked upon a nearby view-screen; he saw about fourteen G.U.N. capital ships moving in formation near him, and the Black Arms fortress-fleet surrounded them, and they began to fly upwards.

"_Excellent news, Admiral_" Black Fist said into Atmos's comm. "_We've got a fix on the scientist's fleet; it holds position on the far side of the moon. Our Comet fleet is certain of this_."

"Very well; I'll hail him, and tell him we mean no harm" Atmos replied, and accessed a different channel.

"Dr. Eggman Ivo Robotnik, this is Fleet-Master Admiral Adam Atmos of the G.U.N. military" Atmos spoke. "We mean you no harm; we have come to speak to you of certain matters. But do not try to escape; the Black Arms have surrounded you, and are now our allies. We wish to forge an alliance with you, as well; Mephiles is planning to kill us all. We shall spare your life if you wish to speak, over?"

*Emerald Town: Ten minutes ago*

While Atmos was hailing Eggman, and while Jackson and Elaine were managing the gathering of G.U.N.'s forces, and while the Commander was on his way to Central City to reason with the President on what they should do, Shadow and Rouge appeared in a flash of red light in Emerald Town.

"Always an exciting trip" Rouge commented, casually brushing her ivory hair back. Shadow nodded, and they walked on.

"Well, we may as well notify Sonic and Amy first; they just got back from their honeymoon, and I'll think they'll want to see their original home again" Shadow said dully.

"Yep" Rouge said with a nod. "We can ask Tails, Silver and Blaze while we're here, too."

So, they finally found Sonic's house (just across the road from Tails's house), and Shadow knocked on the front door. They waited awhile, Rouge tapping her feet while Shadow folded his arms. Finally, the door flew open, and Sonic stood there, grinning.

"Hey, Shad, what's up dude?" Sonic greeted joyfully. "Amy's taking a shower right now, you wanna watch NASCAR with me or something?"

"Fuck NASCAR" Shadow growled. "Sonic, I've just battled through a horde of monsters, watched hundreds of G.U.N. troops burn, formed an alliance with a bastard organization, and have been notified that the forces of hell are gathering en masse to wipe out all life in existence. So I really, _really_, don't feel like spending time with some idiot like you! Capiche`?"

Sonic stared awhile, and sighed. "You never did know how to lighten up much..." he said. "But seriously man, come in; sounds like you got a story to tell."

So they did; Shadow grabbed a cola from the fridge, they sat down in the living room, and Rouge filled Sonic in on what had happened after G.U.N took him, Tails, Knuckles, Tikal, and Amy home (Shadow only put in details when he felt it appropriate).

"...So the Commander has assigned us to get you and us other Mobians to go to Mobius, and see if we can get an army from there as well" Rouge finished.

Sonic and Amy (for Amy had arrived soon after they'd all been seated) shared a glance. Sonic leaned back on the sofa he and Amy shared, thinking deeply, while Amy sighed and broke the silence.

"Well, Sonic and I have been talking about going back to Mobius awhile now, if only to check up on stuff" Amy said. "So... you've really signed on with the Black Aliens now? And Eggman's going to be joining us?"

"Don't remind me" Shadow said darkly, crumpled up his soda can to relieve his frustration, and tossed it into the nearby recycle can. Rouge shrugged, and faced Sonic and Amy again.

"Yes; Black Fist (the leader of the Black Arms) says he has no desire to harm us, and doesn't wish to see another planet suffer the same fate theirs' did" Rouge explained.

"Tell me..." Sonic said, "So we got the aliens on our side; what if Eggman joins Mephiles again? And what if Mobius doesn't have an army to lend to us? They're usually peaceful, and it's been years since Eggman's had a presence there."

"To answer your first question; Eggman betrayed Mephiles, remember? They want each other dead" Shadow said, folding his arms again. "As for Mobius... I don't know; if they don't, we'll just have to head to the fortress G.U.N. is preparing. If they do... we'll have a ton of people with strength and speed found only is us; the less-than-a-dozen Mobians here."

Amy nodded. "Sounds great, but how do we know Knuckles will even let us near the Master Emerald?" she asked.

"Yeah; he's pretty touchy about that shiny thing" Sonic agreed with a nod.

"He won't have a choice" Shadow said pointedly. "I don't care how stubborn that damn idiot's going to be, but we shall not let some stupid echidna be part of the reason the universe was extinguished and engulfed in eternal havoc."

Sonic nodded. "Well, I'll go and get Tails if you guys don't mind getting Silver and Blaze" he said. Shadow and Rouge nodded together.

"Meet us at the beach when you get him" Shadow said, and he and Rouge left Sonic and Amy's house.

The blue hedgehog watched his dark somewhat-counterpart walk away, and sighed.

"I still say he needs to take a chill-pill..." Sonic muttered.

"Yes, but you have to admit; Shadow's been less angsty since he's married Rouge" Amy said, and Sonic nodded in agreement.

*Emerald Beach: Twenty minutes later*

By now, Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Amy, Silver, and Blaze were all gathered upon Emerald Beach. Silver and Blaze had been in the middle of returning from a date, and it had taken a bit of a hustle to get them on the beach in time, but Shadow and Rouge had been quite insistent, even going as far as Shadow taking Silver's favorite kitchen appliance (an instant java-maker) and waving it about.

Silver now casually floated about a foot off the ground, his arms folded grumpily as he continued to throw angry looks at Shadow (who noticed, but didn't care). Blaze stroked the psychic hedgehog on the back, and smiled assuringly. Silver sighed, his features calmed down a bit, and he returned Blaze's smile.

"Okay... so now we're headed to Angel Island, alright?" Shadow said. "And the person who persuades Knuckles to let us use it gets a reward..."

Sonic laughed unnecessarily hard at that, Amy nodded while sighing, and Silver thought what Shadow might mean by "reward."

So then, Shadow held up his Chaos Emerald, and they all vanished.

*Eggman's Flagship: Five minutes ago*

The fiendish doctor was at his control panel, listening to Admiral Atmos's proposal.

"_We wish to forge an alliance with you as well_" Atmos was saying. "_Mephiles plans to kill us all. We shall spare your life if you wish to speak, over?"_

"Preposterous!" Eggman sneered. "Why should I even consider this? I could blow his flagship to slag right now if I wanted..."

But then, as if to prove Dr. Eggman was truly cursed, a hologram of Metal Sonic appeared, and the mech said; "My lord? The Admiral's message is true; we're completely surrounded by Black Arms fortresses, sir... and he's flanked by at least a dozen more of his own capital ships."

"BLAST!!" Eggman shouted, and slammed his fist onto the panels before him. "Why must us geniuses always be the ones who get picked on?! Why can't those inferior-minded nitwits leave me be?!"

"Sir?" Metal Sonic persisted. "Perhaps you should consider negotiating; they're in position to decimate us, sir; there's a 3-1 chance of the Black Arms' weapons breaching our shields before we can reactivate the Chaos Propulsion engines..."

"Very well" Eggman grumbled, and began to open up a communications channel. "But I'm going to detest it. This is Dr. Eggman Ivo Robotnik, Emperor of the Eggman Empire; what is your proposal, Admiral?"

"_Quite simple, doctor_" Atmos replied. "_You lay down your weapons, and allow us to escort you to G.U.N. controlled territory. There, we shall have our commander to speak with you further. But, as I said, we wish to join you; Mephiles is out there, planning to-"_

Suddenly, Eggman burst out laughing. "Mephiles?! Come now, Admiral, I know for a fact that Mephiles isn't a threat to us right now. Now, why did you _really _come here? To surrender to-"

"Doctor?" Metal Sonic said, his hologram popping back up again. "The Chaos-Propulsion engines... they've been critically damaged, sir..."

*Engine Sector BETA: Room of Chaos-Propulsion engines*

A huge turbine bigger than Mauve's favorite nightclub stood in the center of the room, and mechs had been hard at work trying to cool it off more quickly so Eggman's fleet could make the escape to Mobius; the jump that had taken them and about eighty more capital ships off of the planet had worked quite well; they were now on the edges of Earth's gravitational pull, resisted by Eggman's brilliant counter-pull technology that allowed his ships to resist being pulled an further into the planet's atmosphere. The turbine, basically the core of Eggman's Chaos-Propulsion engines, had the yellow Chaos Emerald and four artificial ones in it and, using his energy-replication technology, required no more. The Emeralds activated a Chaos Control portal around Eggman's chosen vectors, but probably couldn't handle any more than ninety ships, so he'd come fairly close in his last jump.

But now, the yellow Chaos Emerald was being tossed up and down in Mauve the Bat's hand, the other emeralds lay on their smoldering holders, which Mauve had overloaded one by one, and thereby frying the Chaos-Propulsion engine... and giving Eggman no hope of immediate escape.

"So, with Shade's purple Emerald... this makes two" Mauve said, eyeing the yellow jewel greedily. "G.U.N. holds three others... and Shadow always carries his red Emerald... only the green Emerald is missing."

Suddenly, an alarm went off, and red sirens and lights began to blare and flash about. But Mauve just grinned to himself.

"Looks like my ride's here" he snickered, and ran back towards the secondary-power room. "Just one task left..." And Mauve went to a console near the disabled turbine, accessed it, downloaded Eggman's plans and schematics for the Chaos-Propulsion engine onto a chip Ovator had designed, and left.

*Outside Eggman's flagship: Sub-zero space environment*

Even in the infinite, black vacuum of space, the nine black streaks of dark energy, flying faster than jets, were easily seeable...

And it was easy to see that it wasn't a good sign... the Black Arms in the nearby ships could sense their presence; it had been bred into their ancestors, who had lived countless nights in fear of them, but had turned that fear into a weapon; a weapon that lay in each and every Black Aliens' heart.

Suddenly, the head of these black missiles broke off, zooming towards Eggman's flagship faster than the others. Hades gained more speed, flying straight towards the top, eyeing the auto turrets that swiveled around to aim at him. But then, Hades' black mass split in two, one going over the ship, and the other going under, and they rejoined on the other side, and latched onto the ship. Hades chuckled to himself, and fired flaming blades at the turrets, which exploded as the missile-like blades impacted. Then, Hades found his most important target: the cryo-generators. He fired several blades at them, and they exploded as well; only Eggman's hull and heavy-guns were shielded.

Suddenly, Xar flew in and landed next to Hades, who regarded his brethren with a sneer.

"I could've done just as well..." he muttered, but Hades marched over to him, and their wicked, never-blinking green eyes met, reflecting the hate within each other.

"You'd do well to show respect to me, you fool" Hades hissed, the end of his sentence ending with a growl that sounded like a flame crackling. "I am second only to the great lord Mephiles himself!"

Xar scoffed. "For now, my _brother_" he said with an emphasis that said he couldn't possibly hate a brother more... unless they opposed Mephiles.

"Izar!" Hades shouted. "You and Nadrina melt a hole through the shields in Mephiles' area. Xar? Transform into a jet or something; give our 'assistant' in there a hand as soon as Mephiles has broken free."

So, the Lost Ones set to work, while Mauve worked below...

*Eggman's control room: One minute later*

"Metal Sonic?!" the doctor sneered, going over the reports going through his ship. "What's going on?! What's happening to our cryo systems?! Activate our backup power source; it should buy us enough time for us to repair the main generators..."

"Doctor; we have a shield breach above Sector Gamma" Metal Sonic said hurriedly. "Those... whatever they are, don't seem to be doing much more damage to the ship... they've neutralized several turrets, and the cryo-generators, but everything else is untouched..."

"Well, that's great!!" Eggman shouted, throwing his arms up. "Admiral Atmos? If you'll excuse me for asking; could you get a visual of what's attacking my ship and send it to me?"

"_Certainly, doctor_" Atmos said with grudging politeness. A moment later, Eggman's camera-files showed an entry, and he opened it...

And he saw about four Mephiles-copies (with alterations; the shapes of the heads were somewhat less spikey, some were taller than others, and some had twisting horns growing out of their heads) milling about the surface of his ship... and saw the destroyed cryo generators nearby them.

"Metal Sonic... put all mech combatants on alert, get the Babylon Rogues and yourself here on the bridge, and activate our Shadow Androids!" Eggman said, trying to stay calm.

*Eggman's flagship: Secondary Power Room*

Mauve the Bat was now deactivating the final cryo power-source and restraints on Mephiles now, and already the ice on the fiend was dripping and falling off. Mauve couldn't tell Mephiles was in stasis other than the fact the demon's green eyes weren't glowing menacingly.

Another alarm began to sound, but only in the room Mauve was currently in. The ice was now rapidly falling off of Mephiles, and some mechs rushed over, ignoring Mauve, spraying Mephiles with liquid nitrogen. The bat killed one mech, and walked back, preparing for Mephiles' awakening.

But then, a hole was blown through the sealing, and a brief vacuum tried to suck Mauve away, but Eggman's ship activated a pressure system of air around it, stopping most of the vacuum. Then, a large, dark, mini-jet looking thing flew in, and opened its cockpit. Following his instincts, Mauve hopped in and strapped himself in.

"Handy!" he said with a chuckle.

"Be silent!" the jet rumbled at him, making Mauve freeze. "It is only the master's will that I do not kill you now! We must leave, so that we do not get in the way of Mephiles' fury! Can you breathe in space?"

"Yes; all Mobians can" Mauve explained, but Xar was already flying outside... which turned out to be an excellent idea.

The mechs below, trying to re-freeze Mephiles, were only slowing down the melting process a bit; the demon had allowed Eggman to capture him, to make the doctor fall into a false sense of security, but when Mauve had hit the black Chaos Gem on his communicator, Mephiles' aura had sent it out for the Lost Ones to hear. And while Mauve had been there, he had stolen schematics vital to Mephiles' plan to reunite with Iblis. Mephiles could've escaped anytime he wanted, but still needed the help to disable what barely-adequate measures Eggman had taken to contain the demon. And now, Eggman was paying the price...

Finally, Mephiles was mostly uncovered, his own powers slowly destroying the ice. Then, his horrible, green eyes flared open, and he tore violently away at the ice, leapt down, and smashed all the mechs together, gathered his power, and unleashed it to literally blow up their remains in pillars of black fire. Then, the demon stood there among the destruction.

"IT... IS... TIME!!" he shouted. "Mephiles... has awakened!" Then he began to unleash surges of violent energy, blowing apart everything in the room. A group of Shadow Android Mark IIs appeared and fired on Mephiles, but the dark being melted, re-formed into a black missile-like form, and blasted through the mechs at the speed of sound, and flew out of the ship. Hades looked up, and flew over to meet his master, who quickly re-formed himself back to normal and stood upon the ship. Hades landed in front of his master, and bowed.

"I exist solely to serve you, Lord Mephiles" he said graciously. Soon after, all the other Lost Ones gathered around (Mauve reluctantly stood away from them, a little creeped out by this).

"My brethren..." Mephiles spoke to them all, softly. "I welcome you... Hades, Nadrina, Devabrawn, Consumar, Bane, Xar, Sparxan, Izar, Hurratore... I welcome you all back to join the final crusade to the ultimate cause: HAVOC!!"

The Lost Ones raised a cheer that sounded like a thundering wildfire, forcing Mauve to cover his ears.

"Now... there are people on the world below loyal to me" Mephiles stated. "I shall head there, and gather another servant. Mauve; you're coming with me. The rest of you; head to the Temple of Chaos, but do not attack... not yet. Wait for me there. Once I join you, we shall enter, and claim the final requirement for my certain victory!"

"All hail Lord Mephiles!" Hurratore cried, and they all took up the chant. "All hail Lord Mephiles! ALL HAIL MEPHILES THE DARK!!"

*Eggman's Flagship: Bridge*

The disheartened doctor looked upon the group of demons (via camera) as they finished chanting, and then they all took off and flew back to Earth. The doctor reluctantly faced Metal Sonic, who had arrived there.

"Metal Sonic... commence damage repairs and get as many things as you can working; use our artificial Chaos Emeralds to power our turrets" he said quietly. The mech bowed, and left as Eggman contacted Admiral Atmos again.

"Admiral... my fleet will follow you; we have much to discuss" the doctor said grudgingly, still shaken by what he'd seen a moment ago. "It appears its unity... or death."

"_I'm afraid so, doctor_" Atmos replied, and the radio was cut off.

The doctor sat back in his seat, and rubbed his temples; now, at least, everything was under control.

"All I ever wanted was my own empire" Eggman muttered to himself. "Is that so much to ask?"

*Angel Island: One minute before Mephiles' release*

"For the last time..." Knuckles said through gritted teeth, his purple eyes sharply meeting Shadow's crimson eyes, "NONODY, especially _you _people, are allowed near the Master Emerald!! Only Tikal and I can touch it!!"

"And I'll tell you for the last time..." Shadow hissed, jabbing Knuckles in the chest with his finger for emphasis. "We do _not_ have time for this! Even as we speak, Mephiles' plans to wipe out all of life and time are commencing! We need Mobius' help, and since G.U.N. still hasn't located all seven Chaos Emeralds, the only way we can Chaos Control ourselves to Mobius is using the Master Emerald! Now _stand aside_, damn you!!"

"As soon as I turn my back, it could be the last time I see it!" Knuckles growled, his hands balling into fists. "I was born to protect the Master Emerald, and I-"

"KNUCKLES! SHADOW!" Tikal shouted, suddenly coming inbetween the two angry Mobians and pushing them away from each other. "Honestly, you men are hypocrites; you're both so stubborn you don't realize the others' better intentions; you just think you're both out to get each other!"

Shadow looked at Tikal, then at Knuckles, then at Rouge (who stood behind them with Sonic and the others, who chatted softly). Finally, Shadow sighed, took a deep breath and faced Knuckles, his face now (almost) completely deprived of anger.

Tikal nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Now, Knuckles?" she said. "They need the Master Emerald, and so do we; you're the only one who can tap into its power anyway. This is for the greater good; now, let's let them use it; let's go back to Mobius!"

Knuckles forced himself to look at Tikal, and something within her shining, green eyes calmed him down a bit. Then, the crimson echidna faced Shadow, and he nodded.

"Very well; c'mon everyone! I'll use the Master Emerald!" Knuckles said so everyone can hear, and he and Tikal led the others towards the Master Emerald's altar.

"About time" Silver muttered under his breath, but Tails shot him a somewhat-pleading look.

"Silver, it's not like we didn't expect this!" the young fox said. "Nobody's seen Knuckles cooperate with hardly anyone easily before."

"Everyone, gather around" Knuckles said, motioning for everyone to form a circle around the Master Emerald's altar, the giant, glowing green gem before them. Rouge's eyes gleamed greedily, but only Shadow noticed. Tikal stood right behind Knuckles as the crimson echidna gazed intently at the Master Emerald. Shadow heard him mutter some words, but only caught; "Chaos Emeralds... servers... hearts intensify..."

Then, Knuckles raised his arms into the air dramatically as the Emerald shined a little brighter.

"O Master Emerald, I call upon your aid once more!" Knuckles commanded loudly. "Please, send us to Mobius! We require aid there! And take yourself as well, Master Emerald, so we may have a way back here!"

The Master Emerald began to shine brightly, and everyone shut their eyes against it. Then, they all felt a tugging sensation they were all familiar with (Shadow more so than the rest), and they vanished.

*Mobius: Three hours ago*

The planet Mobius earned its dimension's name; the only other native sentient people within this universe are the Metarex, Blaze's people (very close cousins of Mobians and also close allies) and an odd dozen or so other known species. But Mobius is the cornerstone of the dimension's knowledge, intelligence, and understanding of all things.

But Eggman, the only threat to Mobius since the defeat of the Metarex, had left almost two years ago and had not been seen since; it was about the same time the renowned hero Sonic and a group of Mobians left with him. But, Mobius knew better than to let their guard down; a warrior who had fought back groups of Eggman's mechs all on his own, and had rallied a small rebellion against an Eggman-controlled city, was now commander of the entire militia organization on Mobius; his name was Kael the Hedgehog. His fur had a gray tint to it, but he was only 37 years old. He had seen every battle Sonic the Hedgehog had waged against Eggman Robotnik, and had come to respect the younger hedgehog. Kael was no general, but he had a mind for strategies, patience to develop them, and steeled determination and loyalty to defend his people. The militia (consisting mostly of echidnas, hedgehogs, foxes wolves and hawks of both genders) were given target practice with their long-range weapons (which were like harpoon guns, but shot out spears of lasers instead, and could carry twenty shots per gun), had to pass three levels of difficulty fighting with their melee weapons (which were basically long, metal poles that could fold away to become swords, spears, or could activate a small energy shield and double as protection), and were sent on survival missions through the woods, and had to make it out to the other side (which usually took at least a week) and were given only a knife, two days worth of food, some tent poles and a large cloth. If they passed all of this, they made it into the militia, but Kael knew that real, hard-core soldiers were trained much more tougher than this. But, it was good enough for a defensive battle, and Eggman still hadn't been seen for a long time...

But now, Mobius was about to be, once again, found by the dogs of war.

*Mobius: Commander Kael's office, located in Sonic's hometown*

Kael was going over the same boring reports he was always forced to read; pointless scout sightings, the breaking up of a fight between some Mobian school kids, and other trivial stuff the militia was forced to handle.

"We're a defensive force, damn it..." Kael muttered to himself. "We're not meant to be the town's little behavior-police! I swear by our planet, I'd almost rather have something shooting at me; it'd be a nice break from this-" But Kael's thoughts were interrupted by a Mobian sergeant coming in, and quickly saluting.

"Sir! We've sighted something at the borders of town!" the light-blue echidna said.

Kael sighed. "At ease, sergeant" he said dully. "Let me guess; a lost bunny looking for her mother? A wolf taking a fox's lunch money? Or, something intense like, a spit-ball fight?" Kael said with mock excitement, then leaned back in his black form-fitting cloth chair, made by technology salvaged from Eggman, looking melancholy.

The echidna cleared his throat, and said; "No, sir... it's Sonic the Hedgehog, Knuckles the Echidna, Miles Prower (you know, the fox known as 'Tails'), Rouge the Bat, and even though we've never seen him, I'm certain Shadow the Hedgehog is among them as well, as well as another echidna; a female we cannot identify."

Kael's eyes widened and he sat up in his seat, quickly adjusting his tail for comfort. "Sonic, you say?" he said seriously, gazing at the sergeant intently. "As in, the blue hedgehog who protected us from Eggman all those years?"

"Yes, sir" the echidna said with a nod. "And Knuckles seems to have brought the Master Emerald with him; we're guessing that's how they got here. And, sir?"

"Yes sergeant?"

"They request to speak to you; the ebony hedgehog does, anyway."

Kael's eyes narrowed and an eyebrow quirked up. "How would he know me, anyway?"

"Well, er, sir, he asked who our military leader was. You were the first thing that came to mind to our scout captain, apparently" the echidna said somewhat uncomfortably. "I'm sorry if you don't want to be bothered..."

"No; tell them I want them escorted here, but with courtesy. Then I'll speak to whoever's leading them."

The echidna saluted again. "Yes, Commander Kael" he said, turned on his heel, and left.

*Commander Kael's Militia headquarters: Waiting room*

Shadow now sat upon one of the Mobian form-fitting, cushioned chairs in the waiting room, Rouge sitting next to him while Silver just hovered a few feet off the ground, reclining his head into his arms, Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, and Tails all chatted across the room, and Blaze, with her arms folded casually, spoke to her floating boyfriend.

"You think he'll let us talk to him?" Rouge asked, crossing one leg over the other.

"He better" Shadow said with a sigh, and folded his arms broodingly. "It was a major pain in the ass to get Knuckles to get us here; I expect to get what I came here for."

"You mean, what the _commander_ sent us here for" Rouge said with a smirk.

"Whatever."

Silver, meanwhile, was speaking to Blaze about how the Mobians were going to get back to Earth with their reinforcements

"Well, I suppose they may be close to developing something here" Silver said. "I mean, they may need Sonic while he's at Earth, and will need to get word to him; surely they've considered that."

"True... and I spoke to a rabbit on our way here, and she said they were working on a teleportation device to Earth, but needed a source of energy that would allow them to bend the fabric of time and dimensions" Blaze replied thoughtfully.

Silver suddenly pulled out the green Chaos Emerald he had with him. "Well... I suppose we could let them have this, at least to get their army to us" he said, and nodded. "Yes, I will."

"Hey, Silver!" Sonic said, having overheard their conversation. "Me and Amy will stay here and give it to them; we've been wanting to spend a bit of time back here at home anyway."

Knuckles nodded. "Just so long as the Master Emerald and I don't have to be a dimension apart" he said, but then his expression softened, and he stood up and patted his blue friend on the shoulder. "Hurry back though, okay man? I don't want to have the burden of saving you some monsters for when you get back."

Sonic chuckled. "I've never been one to go somewhere slowly" he said with a thumbs-up, and gave Knuckles a fist-pound (careful to avoid the echidna's spikes).

"Yeah Sonic; hurry back, we'll need you both!" Tails added.

"Ah, don't get mushy!" Amy said, ruffling Tails' hair.

Suddenly, a tall, lithe, dark-red wolf came into the room, and everyone faced him as he said; "Commander Kael will speak with whoever needs to, now."

Shadow glanced at Rouge, who nodded, and they went up to the wolf together, who acknowledged them with a courteous bow.

"Follow me, please" the wolf said, and led Shadow and Rouge down a long hallway, where several Mobians saluted to the wolf as he passed by, who returned them. Finally, the wolf went into a room at the end of the room, went into the center of the office, stood rigidly at attention, and saluted.

"Commander Kael, sir; I've brought the Mobians who wish to speak to you" the wolf said. Shadow and Rouge noticed a gray hedgehog sitting at the desk before them, who was wearing a tan, leather overcoat over a red, golden-trimmed vest (that secretly hid a shield-projector that protected him from most attacks). The gray hedgehog looked up, and returned the salute.

"Thank you captain, you may go now" Kael said, and the wolf left the room. Then Kael's expression softened, he smiled at Shadow and Rouge, and waved at a couple of seats in front of his desk.

"Please, have a seat" Kael said politely, and Shadow and Rouge sat down in them. "Now; what is it you wish to speak to me about?"

"Introductions first, my man" Rouge said casually, leaning back into her seat. "You've heard of us, but still; I'm Rouge the Bat. Part-time spy and agent for Guardian Units of Nations. And..." Rouge motioned to Shadow, who took his cue.

"I'm Shadow the Hedgehog; the artificial Mobian, as you may know me" he replied, gazing intently at the gray hedgehog before him, who met his penetrating gaze. "I'm Rouge's agent-partner for G.U.N. as well, and we've come here on an order of our commander."

Kael nodded. "Yes... what brings you to Mobius, Shadow and Rouge?" he said clasping his hands upon his desk.

"Well... that's kinda a long story, bud..." Rouge said hesitantly. "You got time?"

"Honestly? I doubt anything's going to happen here that will require my full attention within the next ten years" Kael muttered. "Take your time; I'll have refreshments brought if need be."

So, Rouge launched into the tale of what had been happening on Earth; G.U.N.'s struggle with Eggman, Mephiles and his background, the Mecha War, the Black Arms invasion several years ago, what Black Fist had told them, their alliance with the Black Arms, the return of Mephiles' monsters, and finally (after Shadow inputted some details), Rouge explained why they came to Mobius.

"So, you see Kael, the Commander figured that, since all Mobians are incredibly strong (at least compared to humans), whatever force you could lend us would be... well, helpful" Rouge finished with a shrug.

Kael was silent a long time, staring intently at his empty wine cup (Shadow and Rouge's empty cups stood near his; the story had taken a few hours), taking in everything he'd just learned. Finally, he sighed, and looked up at Rouge.

"Well, of course I'd be glad to lend you aid" the gray hedgehog said. "But, there are a few problems; first off, our militias altogether would only total to a force of roughly 11,000 troops. Secondly, they're not trained for full-scale war; only light defense, ambush, and strict guard battles. Thirdly, it'll be at least a week before we can have the means to send you reinforcements, even with a Chaos Emerald."

"Silver said he'd lend you one" Rouge said, trying to stay calm. "And, you can train them a bit better in a week, maybe?"

Kael chuckled. "Perhaps, but only if I had every commanding officer enlisted get to work immediately" he admitted. "But, even if I succeed, and I do get them there, how much difference will it make? Honestly; 10,000 soldiers against an armada capable of wiping out all life and time?"

"First off; only Mephiles and his 'Lost One' cronies have that power; their armies are just the muscle they need to flatten the larger waves of resistance" Shadow said. "And your army can make a huge difference; amateur Mobian-fighters can take down several enemies. If your entire force struck them from the side, or flanked them, their casualties would be enormous."

Kael nodded. "Very well... I'll have our forces rallied and prepared for departure" he said. "However; if what you say is true, and this 'Mephiles the Dark' conquers our forces, Mobius will need a means of defense; I'm leaving 1,500 soldiers here under command of one of my best captains, if only to buy our people more time for peace."

Shadow was about to object, to say it wouldn't matter in the end and those troops were needed in the fight that could make a difference, but knew Kael had a duty to protect Mobius, not a far-off planet; sending _any_ help was a huge favor on the commanding hedgehog's part. So the ebony hedgehog nodded, and he, Rouge, and Kael stood up in unison.

"I'll send them there as soon as I can; I think I can toughen up most of them in maybe five days or more" Kael said.

"That'll be at least two weeks for us" Rouge said hesitantly. "Sure you can't do it any quicker?"

"I'm certain" Kael replied. "We've wasted enough time; go on. We'll be there soon."

"I'll transmit the coordinates you should teleport to on our way out" Rouge said, and she and Shadow left the room.

As they walked down the hallway, Rouge patted Shadow on the back.

"Well, that went better than expected" she said with a big smile. Shadow tried to return it, but only sighed.

"Still... we're recruiting an amateur mini-army to assist us" he said moodily. "Mobian or not, it may not be enough to stop Mephiles."

"That's where we come in, Shadow" Rouge told her husband sincerely, gripping his hand and meeting his eyes sternly. "I told you; I'll always fight by your side, and as long as we do, nothing can defeat us. I love you too much to let anything happen to you."

Shadow gazed into his wife's eyes awhile, seeing how sincere she was being... how she always was when she spoke about how she felt for him.

"I love you too, Rouge..." Shadow whispered, and making sure nobody was in the hallway, the hedgehog's lips met Rouge's, and they shared a loving, passionate kiss that they pulled each other into.


	11. The Sword of Chaos

**Chapter Ten: The Sword of Chaos**

*Angel Island, far from Master Emerald altar: G.U.N. outpost surrounding temple*

Since Mephiles' attack on G.U.N. Headquarters over a year ago, and since he'd retrieved data on this temple on Angel Island (which Knuckles originally discovered), G.U.N. had tripled their strength in guarding this place. Knuckles had only agreed on their presence when they told him that, when he left Angel Island, they'd detach a force to guard the Emerald so Knuckles could go out and have some fun with Tikal every now and then. Recently, about two days ago, they'd received word that the Commander had sent the Mobians to their homeworld so as to gather their forces against a grave attack. And they'd been notified that the Black Arms (whom many troops there still had bitter memories of, either during the war with them several years ago or a bit more recently, when they'd assisted Mephiles in attacking Shadow and the Mobians in Central City) had joined G.U.N., to not harm any they see, and the Commander had sent about thirty Black Aliens and some of their equipment to reinforce this outpost for emphasis. Another day later, most of the troops accepted the Black Aliens' allegiance, thinking that their Commander probably knew what he was doing.

And, later that day (about 7:30 in the afternoon), a soldier who ran the radio-transmission device jumped as the radio sharply barked with Knuckles the Echidna's voice.

"_This thing on?_" Knuckles said irritably, and the soldier heard somebody (probably the female echidna he always hangs around with, the soldier thought) whispering to him, and Knuckles cleared his throat.

"_Okay, um... this is Knuckles the Echidna, contacting... that one base on my island, over?_" the red echidna said lamely. The communication officer chuckled to himself before replying; "G.U.N. Outpost 'Angel-Alpha Base' here, go ahead."

"_Right... um, okay; this radio can't reach headquarters, so could you contact them and tell them a few things? First off; tell them the Mobians have agreed to help us. Next; tell them that Sonic and Amy are still there, and that they'll be returning after they help them finish making a way to get here. And finally; everyone else is back here, over?_"

"Very well, sir; I'll get right on that" the G.U.N. officer replied. "Damn good news, thank you."

"_My pleasure_" Knuckles said brightly, and the radio closed off.

*Angel Island: Master Emerald Altar*

"I've seen babies play the piano more professionally" Rouge muttered to Shadow, who cracked a smirk, watching Knuckles walk away from the G.U.N. contraband radio with a grin on the echidna's face. Silver just exchanged a smile with Blaze, and shrugged.

"I could've flown us over there to the outpost, no problem" Silver said. "I mean, we gotta head back and help G.U.N. begin fortifying their defenses anyway..."

"Hey! I don't get to use the radio often!" Knuckles shouted, his hands forming fists. "So just shut up!!!"

"Whatever, Knucky" Rouge said with a shrug.

"DON'T CALL ME KNUCKY!!!" Knuckles screamed at the ivory bat. "YOU KNOW I HATE THAT!!"

"Yeah, that's why I-" Rouge began to reply, but Tikal shot her a look, and the orange echidna went over to her lover.

"Knuckles, please; calm down" she said soothingly, rubbing Knuckles' head. "It makes me nervous when you're mad..."

Knuckles smiled sheepishly, took a deep breath, and hugged Tikal. "You're right; forgive me" he said quietly.

"Oh, how touching" Shadow said with a disgusted look. "I'm gonna go home and throw up. Good night!"

"Tell me about it..." Rouge muttered, standing up to leave with her husband. Silver looked and Blaze, who nodded and approached him. Shadow was about to leave via Chaos Control, and Silver was about to fly Blaze home, when Knuckles' radio went off again.

"Alright! I'm on a roll!" the red echidna said excitedly, and literally dove for the radio, and answered it.

"Knuckles here, how can I help you?"

"_Knuckles! You and the others got to get here quick; Mephiles is here!_" the G.U.N. soldier said in a panicked tone.

*G.U.N. Angel Island-outpost: One minute ago*

The battle, Mephiles knew, would not take long: already, Mauve had assassinated three of the highest commanding officers, and the other G.U.N. troops were in disarray. Shade the Echidna had blown apart eight single-unit mechs and a Juggernaut tank with a Chaos Blast, and now, the Lost Ones took their cue from the slight gesture Mephiles made to them. Nine black, ominous blurs streaked across the sky, and landed on the ground, some smoothly, others with the impact of missiles (particularly Devabrawn and Hades). Hades fired dozens of flame-engulfed blades at the G.U.N. defenses, blowing them apart and burning his foes with the flames of hell itself. Nadrina had blasted a huge pit of sizzling acid at a large group of soldiers, who screamed and howled in agony as their flesh slid off their bones and fell to the ground, disintegrating. And Devabrawn let out a haunting, bellowing laugh as he literally jumped into the air, grabbed a G.U.N. helicopter, and hurled it at a G.U.N. fighter, blowing apart both. Consumar, disliked by Mephiles somewhat because of his parasitic nature, was feeding off the corpses of the dead, and grew in stature and power as he did so. He then released surges of forceful energy that blasted soldiers into the ancient temple, and their own defensive structures, shattering their bones. And Bane was cutting a bloody swath through all the soldiers with a blade-weapon on his arm: he was a black-red blur of death, and could not be hit, and even if Shadow had been there, could not be killed even by a Chaos Lance unless struck between his green, malicious eyes. Xar was having almost as much fun as Devabrawn: he was using his manipulative powers over matter to hurl G.U.N.'s own mechs and shattered defenses against them. And Sparxan, who fought near Shade, was using a spinning, multi-whip weapon on his right hand to batter aside any who stood long enough to get in his way, and was using fire to blast the ground, and send a flaming typhoon of death at all in his way. And Izar had single-handedly shattered all Juggernauts and other G.U.N. attack vehicles; his left hand was formed into a mace-like club, and no known alloy could stand up to it. Hurratore then finished up the heavy-defenses with a hurricane of energy that tore the limbs off soldiers and mechs. Finally, Shade and Mauve mopped up what was left, and joined the Lost Ones in bowing as Mephiles approached.

"Well done, my brothers" Mephiles said, addressing the Lost Ones, who took this as their cue to stand up. "Now, the powers of the Third Civilization are ours to unlock and claim!" Mephiles turned to face Shade and Mauve, nodding. "You two did well also" he complimented. "The Lost Ones are immune to the weaponry G.U.N. had here, of course, but you certainly made the job easier... and more amusing to watch."

Mauve smirked and nodded, and Shade only bowed lowly, saying; "Thank you, my gracious Lord."

"Now..." Mephiles said, facing the temple, "Hades, Nadrina, Izar, Devabrawn; try to breach the gate. Izar, hold back until the others are done, and then use your mace."

The Lost Ones complied; Nadrina shot blast after blast of noxious acid at the main door while Hades and Devabrawn unleashed volley after volley of missiles. Finally, Mephiles held up his hand for the ceasefire, and they waited for the smoke (and Nadrina's acid-fumes) to clear up...

*With Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles and the others*

Shadow glanced up at Rouge, shock and restlessness in his eyes; after the G.U.N. officer's message, a scream and a long burst of static had issued from the radio. The two of them glanced over at Knuckles, Tikal, Silver, and Blaze.

"We have to go!" Shadow said, drawing his dagger, and already looking in the direction of the G.U.N. encampment. "We have to stop them while they're exposed to us; we have no time to waste!" And with that, the ebony hedgehog grabbed his wife by the hand, and they warped away, leaving a still-bewildered Knuckles and the others behind. Finally, the crimson echidna faced Tikal with a sudden move that made the female echidna's eyes widen a moment.

"Can I trust you to stay here while I do the ass-kicking?" Knuckles asked seriously. Tikal smiled softly, and kissed Knuckles on the cheek.

"Just come back safely, and don't keep me waiting" Tikal replied. Silver, meanwhile, was already flying at incredible speed towards the G.U.N. encampment. Knuckles and Blaze took off together, following after their fellow Mobians as fast as they could.

'_So... Mephiles is back, huh?_' Knuckles thought to himself with a smirk. '_I still owe him an ass-kicking from last time we fought._'

*At the temple; with Mephiles, 40 seconds ago*

When the smoke finally cleared, Mephiles was impressed to see that his brethrens' attack had literally left only a scratch and a single scorch mark on the main door of the temple. In fact, the only damage was where Nadrina's acids had leaked to the ground and burned through the soil, and the scorched grass from Hades' and Devabrawn's missiles. Mephiles sighed, and considered having Shade fire a Chaos Spear, but knew that the Ancient Civilization would have taken consideration in making Chaos Energy-proof walls, especially since the god Chaos himself had nearly caused the world's doom. He turned to Izar, who still had his mace at the ready.

"Izar! Smash the door with your utmost potency!" Mephiles commanded, and Izar nodded enthusiastically.

"I shall, master; for the future of our havoc!" Izar roared, charged at the door, and swung his mace...

But Izar practically fell down the steps from the blow of his impact, shuddering with a reverberation and leaving no mark on the door. But he quickly shook it off and tried again. He got the same results as before, and again next time (but felt a small bit of satisfaction at the small crack he got the final time, despite his club-mace being able to smash through titanium tanks).

Mauve rolled his eyes. "You guys are thinking this over too much; let me try!" he said, drew a bomb, and threw it at the door. The explosive too, however, failed miserably to breach the door.

Mephiles growled, and faced the Lost Ones. "This is ridiculous!" he snarled at them. "You call yourselves my brethren?! This is pathetic!" he added, inspiring shame and fear in them all (Hades took it a little better; he knew he held a somewhat higher amount of respect in Mephiles' eyes). "We are the wrath of havoc, and destruction! No darkness can hide our foes or goals; for the darkness is _ours_! Our attacks come from the fury of the blackest pit of hell itself! And yet, we cannot breach this door! A simple, door, condemned as we are to a fate we did not choose! Lost Ones, I ask you; can you act as the one being you all are!"

"YES, LORD MEPHILES!!" the Lost Ones replied with dark clarity, their green, wicked eyes shining in determination.

"THEN BECOME ONE, MY BRETHREN!" Mephiles cried, raising his arms to the heavens - that he cursed with every breath - for emphasis. "BECOME THE BEING THAT ALL WHO WALK IN LIGHT FEAR!!"

What Mephiles had commanded, neither Mauve nor Shade, nor the Mobians who fought against them would forget. Shadow the Hedgehog did not physically see this monstrosity; he felt it with his heart, and a cold dread swept over him, Rouge, and the others, blotting out their perception of the fading sun, blinding them for a few moments in night. Shadow and Rouge would cry out to each other, and find barely enough comfort in each other to attempt to try and get their bearings. Knuckles, however, suddenly wished he'd stayed with Tikal.

What Mephiles had commanded his brothers and sister to do was something they could only do once a century, after killing many innocents; merge to become one, and to complete an act of terrible offense to those who stood against them. Hades, who was second only to Mephiles himself, combined his oozing essence with the others, merging into one, large, powerful being. The green eyes suddenly grew red pupils; a pit of hell's fire amongst rotting green corpses; jewels from the pits of hell, you might say. Giant, twisted horns that seared with fire arose from this unholy head, wicked claws of death that radiated with unholy power sprouted from its hands. Large, white teeth that gnashed like crackling bones shined hideously from its mouth, a mouth that seemed a gaping, endless hole of despair.

Mauve, who luckily hadn't eaten anything in awhile, would've shit himself if he had. The bat whimpered and fell to his knees, unable to tear his eyes away from the terrifying spectacle. Shade didn't blame him; the only thing that kept him from imitating the bat - whom he despised with a passion – was his loyalty to Mephiles, and his pride.

The wicked monster stepped forward to destroy the door, and knew with certainty that it didn't stand a chance; this monster's power paled to none, not even Mephiles' power, which controlled the beast. With a roar that assaulted the eardrums without mercy, the monster unleashed a torrent of hell's fury upon the door; black fire and energies drawn from elements only the darkest of nightmares could begin to suggest assaulted the door.

Finally, the Lost Ones regained their individuality, and followed Mephiles inside, Shade and Mauve after them. But nobody would forget the night Mephistopheles breached the Ancient Temple of Chaos.

*With Shadow*

The ebony hedgehog could now see the smoldering wreck of the G.U.N. outpost along with Rouge; he had teleported them just a minute or so away from the base, in case their enemies were still engaged in fighting G.U.N. But, as Shadow quickly learned, that was not the case as he and Rouge ran into the clearing, ready to battle...

"What happened here?" Rouge said quietly, kneeling down to examine a destroyed mech.

"Mephiles brought some help, it seems" Shadow said grimly, his eyebrows narrowing in a frown. "I'd say a few of his Lost Ones cronies, or a few hundred of his other monster posses. Either way, we're outnumbered, as usual. I'd put their number around..." Here, Shadow examined some faint footprints, estimated where they'd traveled, the quickness of the damage, and nodded. "I'd say roughly eleven."

Soon, Silver came flying onto the scene, and gently lowered himself to the ground, looking about with a bewildered look on his face. The metallic-colored hedgehog used his powerful mind to search the damage, and recognized the damage as being done by something Mephiles had done.

"So... Mephiles was definitely here, there's no doubt of it" Silver commented, frowning. "Still... he would have to have had help; there's no way he could have taken out everything here himself, unless he's grown more powerful."

"You're right there" Shadow remarked. "He i_did/i _have help; my guess is that it's the Lost Ones."

Soon after that, Blaze and Knuckles came into the clearing around the temple, wearing similar expressions that Silver had on their faces. Knuckles looked around, sighed heavily, and kicked a nearby pile of scrap metal to relieve his frustration, having apparently missed a big fight. Blaze took her place by Silver's side, who exchanged a smile with each other despite the grim-looking situation. Shadow, however, had his gaze fixed firmly upon the gaping hole in the temple's wall. He also noticed steps leading into the entrance; the hole had obviously once been a door.

"They went in there, and whatever they're looking for, it can't benefit us" Shadow said, pointing with his dagger. "We have to go in there and try and stop them, now!"

Rouge looked over at her husband with a frown. "You sure that's a good idea?" she asked speculatively.

"No, of course it's not a good idea" Shadow said with a scoff. "But it's not like we have any choice. Besides..." Shadow's eyes suddenly grew deprived of all warmth, comfort and mercy, leaving only a cold hatred. Rouge grew worried; the last time she'd seen that look was a few years back, before they'd even started dating back on that mission in Central City. She put a hand on Shadow's shoulder, but the ebony hedgehog shrugged it off.

"That bastard killed Kaynyx, and that old wolf was the closest thing I had to a brother" Shadow said coldly. "It's time I repaid the favor." And having said that, Shadow walked up the steps at a fairly fast pace, and entered. Rouge quickly followed after him, then Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles after her. Once they got inside, Rouge looked around in marvel...

The Aztec-similar ruins and structure-designs on the exterior betrayed the interior: there were small, glowing gems that lined the walls, creating a dim, rainbow of light that revealed the walls to be made of stone that looked as if it hadn't been touched by time since it was created, save for a little dust. These walls were as smooth as marble, but ancient still; like a pyramid in its prime. The floor was similar, only slightly-brighter gems illuminated it for as far as Rouge could see, and they saw three different exits from the room, not counting the one they'd just entered by. Still, the ivory bat was more accustomed to her senses; besides the dim-light of the setting sun peering through the door Mephiles and the Lost Ones had broken down, the room was poorly lit.

"These gems... there is a small field of weak, but stable, Chaos Energy around them..." Silver observed, tapping into the gems with his mind. "It must be what preserved the interior from the ravages of time."

Shadow nodded. "Possibly, but we didn't come here to pass judgment on archeological preservation, no matter how fascinating".

Upon observing the doors awhile, thinking to himself, Shadow nodded. "Silver, Blaze, Knuckles; go through that exit and search for Mephiles" the ebony hedgehog said. "I'll be in touch via communicator; let me know if you find anything about Mephiles, who's helping him, or why they're here. Rouge and I will go through the other exit."

"Certainly" Blaze said, and she, Silver, and Knuckles ran through the passage to their right. Rouge offered an encouraging smile to Shadow, but he just walked past her and through the other passage. Her ears drooping slightly, the ivory bat sighed and followed her husband.

*With Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles*

The three Mobians walked at a jogging-pace through the temple, looking about warily. Whenever it grew a bit too dark, Blaze would ignite a flame on her hand to help them see. Silver was incredibly fascinated with the walls they saw, but Knuckles was growing uneasy, not having a fight on his hands.

"What I wouldn't give to have Mephiles' face at the end of my fist right now..." the crimson echidna muttered. Blaze shot him a look, though.

"How about a moment's silence? Can you give us that?" she said with exasperated irritation. They continued on without the echidna's complaining for awhile (besides some muttering), when they were suddenly beset with a problem...

They were at a dead end.

"Huh... must've missed a turn back there" Silver said with a shrug, and turned around...

But was faced by another wall. Worse, this one had spikes on it. Everyone backed away from it, baffled by the concept of being trapped so cunningly.

"Well, at least it can't get much worse" Blaze said with a soft sigh. "Maybe I can burn through it, or Silver can tear it apart..."

Knuckles scoffed. "It can _always _get worse" he said with a frown.

Now, Knuckles wasn't an idiot, despite what Shadow and Rouge might say, but he wasn't exactly cunning; Knuckles was just simple, straight-forward, and efficient, which was a good quality in many ways. However, the red echidna didn't rely on intellect all that often, and therefore, wasn't often correct when he used it.

Unfortunately, he was right this time.

For the "dead end" they had run into had vanished into the ground as silently as a leaf descends to the ground. Beyond that was another spiked wall about fifty feet away, moving towards them at about eleven inches a second.

"Oh, crap!" Silver cursed, and started thinking quickly. Knuckles rapidly punched at the ground, hoping to find a soft spot to tunnel with, but a substance that had taken the full-fury of hell to break through made the echidna's efforts laughable. Blaze shot flames out of her hands at the advancing wall. It only slowed it a little, but it bought Silver a few more moments to think.

"I got it!" he said, and motioned for everyone to follow him. Silver then began to climb the spikes of the motionless wall that trapped them. The psychic hedgehog was about to try and make everyone float with him to safety, but his abilities seemed blocked, somehow... it was still there, but was distant, as if the spiked wall not only blocked off their escape, but made it difficult to reach his powers.

So, they climbed as fast as they could. Knuckles made it to the top first, and to everyone's relief, he found a small ledge that was safe from the deathtrap below. He crawled over there and helped Silver through. Then, the hedgehog offered his hand to Blaze...

Who slipped.

In panic, Silver called upon the entire reach of his reachable powers to halt Blaze's fall and bring her back up. He succeeded.

Barely.

Blaze then quickly climbed back up with them, not letting go of Silver's hand as the spiked walls slammed together. Knuckles breathed a sigh of relief, and leaned back to lie down. Silver and Blaze briefly hugged each other, enjoying the close-call.

"Well, thank God that's over" Knuckles said.

"Yes... but, I wonder why my powers felt so distant here..." Silver muttered. "They were normal when I came in, so it must be something specific about this room..."

"Perhaps the Chaos Gems that light the room here act as parasites that used your energy to fuel the trap..." Blaze said thoughtfully.

"Hey! I found a way out!" Knuckles said, and suddenly wedged himself through the gap between the ceiling and the wall that had nearly crushed them. The ceiling was lower everywhere but for the ledge they now rested on, which was more of a large niche in the wall than anything. Thankfully, upon crawling through the gap between the ceiling and the wall, Silver and Blaze saw that the other side offered no traps, and they, along with Knuckles, pressed on.

"I wonder why that gap in the wall was so conveniently placed there..." Blaze wondered aloud. Silver looked back behind them as they walked, and shrugged.

"Probably because they needed a place to help set the trap, and it was used to rest on while the builders of this place set the trap" the hedgehog replied to his girlfriend. "Or... maybe they wanted to give us an opportunity to escape. Maybe... there's something in this temple worth getting to..."

Suddenly, the portable communicator Knuckles carried with him (given to him by G.U.N. in addition to the radio at the Master Emerald's altar) went off. Excited by this opportunity to talk professionally with a G.U.N. officer, the echidna scrambled for it. After pressing the right button, and Silver and Blaze hiding their smiles, Knuckles answered it.

"Yah, Knuckles here!" the echidna said proudly.

"_Knuckles? Shadow here... I got some news..._" the hedgehog said morbidly. "_Mephiles has been through the way we're going; we found a door broken down on our way through._"

There was a morbid silence, and Silver and Blaze exchanged a worried glance. Knuckles took a deep breath, and said; "You two making good progress?"

"_For now_" Shadow said with a sigh. "_There's something about this next door that we can't figure out. Just keep going, and try to meet up with us if you can. Keep us posted. Shadow out."_

Knuckles scoffed. "Oh, he seems _really_ concerned about us" he said with a mutter.

*With Shadow and Rouge*

Indeed, the door the dark couple was at was quite peculiar; it was completely square, for starters, but odder still, it was on the floor, and had to be pushed open, for their was no handle. Rouge and Shadow tried everything they could to destroy the door, but it was hopeless. In fact, the interior temple-doors were only about 20% weaker than the outside temple walls (which was how Mephiles and the Lost Ones had broken down the previous one).

"Hmm... there's something about this room..." Shadow muttered to himself, looking around. "It's a perfect square, unlike any of the other rooms we've seen. And the floor is at the bottom..."

Rouge was about to ask what he was getting at, but eventually, she too saw a solution to this puzzle (agents are trained for such things). If what Shadow was thinking what she was thinking, then the door wasn't _supposed_ to be on the floor, and it likely hadn't been when Mephiles had passed through. Somehow, the door had simply been up on the wall, like it should've been, but how?

Shadow and Rouge looked at each other, and shared a knowing smile.

"This room is a cube... so there must be a way of rotating it so the door is lined up properly where it can open up" Rouge said slowly. "Once the cube is rotated back into place, the door will get fixed into its proper position, and we can push it open!"

"Excellent..." Shadow said, but then frowned. "But... how do we rotate the room?"

Rouge's smile vanished as well, and they started to look around the room. There was nothing too special about it; there were some old runes carved here and there, and some scratches and niches of mortar along the wall, but little else.

"Whoever built this place really must've wanted it to remain undisturbed" Shadow muttered, running his hand over a niche in the wall for the umpteenth time. "Fine place for Mephiles to lead us into..."

But suddenly, Shadow realized something about the hole he was examining; it was small at the beginning, and curved downward and became larger as it curved downward. This, Shadow realized, was in similar design to his dagger's scabbard. So, after a deep sigh and figuring he might as well try, the ebony hedgehog drew out his dagger, and inserted it into the niche.

It worked amazingly: the room almost immediately began to rotate, the door on the floor beginning to move upwards, towards the opposite of the way they'd just entered through. But Rouge and Shadow had to keep from tumbling over each other and readjust their footing.

Finally, the door was aligned with the wall. Shadow removed his dagger, and he and Rouge continued forward.

"This temple... it's so old, so complex..." Shadow observed in wonder. "It... it's almost like this place in itself is a self-preserved relic of history, like the mosquito trapped in amber on Jurassic Park or something!"

"Yeah, but I'm worried about what makes Mephiles so interested in this place..." Rouge muttered. "Some kind of weapon, or ancient power? Maybe a simple treasure to pay off Mauve?"

"Maybe, but I doubt Mephiles would go through all this trouble just to pay off a soldier-for-hire, especially one like Mauve" Shadow replied, saying the name "Mauve" as if it were an insult that left a foul taste on his tongue.

"Yeah... I wonder if it has something to do with that stuff Mauve stole from G.U.N." Rouge said with a snap of her fingers. "You know; when he, Mephiles, Shade, and their goons attacked G.U.N. Headquarters?"

"Of course I do" Shadow growled. "We lost that battle."

"Well, yeah..." Rouge admitted with irritation, "But the fact remains that the whole mission was to give Mauve a chance to get something from us. I have a feeling that what they got led them here."

"Yes... I was hypothesizing that as well..." Shadow replied thoughtfully, but suddenly noticed something about the floor they were walking on...

It certainly still looked normal, but it felt like they were sinking into it...

Suddenly, Shadow realized that the floor wasn't breaking apart or anything; it was trying to swallow them up.

"Run!!" Shadow yelled, grabbed Rouge by the wrist, and ran across the floor. He had to struggle to pull his feet free, but Rouge helped keep them off the ground by flapping her wings and keeping them a bit off the ground at times. That, however, didn't work either; long, sharp darts had begun to shoot down from above.

"WHO BUILT THIS FUCKING PLACE?!" Rouge screamed, folding her wings up lest they be pierced by one of the many darts. Shadow now began to run even faster, Rouge pulling herself along as best she could. Darts continued to imbed themselves into the ground, and the ground continued to suck Team Dark down and hinder their speed.

But, looking at the long arrows stuck in the ground, Shadow had an idea...

"Rouge! Walk on the arrows!" Shadow yelled. "We'll be able to move without the floor slowing us down!"

Rouge didn't bother to argue the point, and followed the hedgehog's advice; using her skill of excellent balance, she and Shadow leapt onto the arrows and leapt from one dart to the other. The floor no longer stuck to them and pulled them down, and they finally made it to the other side of the room, where no darts fell. The two of them looked at each other, and embraced the other in relief.

"Wow... that was... exhilarating" Rouge said with a nervous chuckle. Shadow nodded in reply.

"Come on; this door's already open" he said with a smirk, and the two of them ran down a hallway. The glowing gems in the walls were bigger and brighter here than they had been in the rest of the temple. Finally, they reached a large, double-door about half the size of a hangar-door. Shadow stepped back to get a better view of it, and Rouge whistled in amazement. Each door was about ten feet tall, and seven feet wide... and on each door, an elegant, near-realistic carving of what looked like a Chaos Emerald was easily visible on each door, lit up by soft, blue, glowing gems.

"Whoever built this place really didn't half-ass it" Rouge admitted, putting her hands on her hips. Her husband nodded without comment, and approached the large doors. Shadow ran his hand across them, looking for some sort of means to open it up. The hedgehog and his ally looked it over carefully, maybe hoping to see a niche in the wall that Shadow's dagger could fit into. But, the wall seemed bare save for the Emerald-carvings.

"Hmm... maybe there's something else to this room..." Rouge murmured thoughtfully. But Shadow merely sighed, and kicked at the ground in frustration. "This is so stupid!" the hedgehog exclaimed. "Mephiles has gone through here already! What does it take? We've already gotten past those damned traps and puzzles; I'm not going to let this door stop me from stopping the bastard who ruined my life!!"

Rouge's eyes widened, realizing what a raw nerve Shadow was now that they knew for certain Mephiles was back. Shadow wanted revenge more than anything, and it even topped his desire to protect all life in Maria's memory. The hedgehog kicked at the door, slashed at it with his dagger, and even tried a few Chaos Spears. Not to Shadow's surprise, however, the door remained stubbornly undamaged.

"Hey, what's all the noise?!" a familiar voice shouted, coming from the hall opposite from where Shadow and Rouge had entered. "You're gonna let Mephiles know where we are!" And soon, Knuckles, Blaze, and Silver arrived, looking like they'd just ran an obstacle course like Shadow and Rouge had.

"Any of you guys going to help open this door, or what?" Rouge asked, gesturing with her thumb at the source of Shadow's immediate problem. Knuckles looked at it, but only shrugged helplessly, knowing nothing he could do would make much difference. Blaze shot a blast of fire at the door, and Silver contained the blast so it would explode like a small missile. That too, however, sadly failed. It was going to take a miracle to open this door.

Fortunately, they got one.

Shadow thought he heard his own thoughts at first, but it was more like a whisper... like some unnatural breeze carrying an alien noise. Nobody else seemed to hear it, so he didn't bother to voice it, and even if they had, wouldn't have brought it up; he preferred to think for himself. Shadow strained his ears, and heard it again...

"_The Emerald that marks the door..._" it said, now that Shadow paid attention (it seemed a little louder, too), "_Only Chaos can shatter the peace... only Scyth the Hedgehog can be allowed to use Chaos... only the one who wields the dagger of treasures... the dagger that burns through darkness... mark the Emeralds with Chaos..._" and the voice ended. A quick observation told the ebony hedgehog that nobody had heard it the second time, either, not even Rouge's sensitive ears.

"Guys... I have an idea..." Shadow said softly, and approached the door, looking up at the Emeralds engraved onto the doors. Spreading out both hands, he touched both Emeralds on both doors. Then, taking a deep breath, he summoned a small - but noticeable – amount of Chaos Energy to each hand. The Emerald-carvings seemed to glow yellow-amber, like the energy at his hands, and then the Emerald-images turned bright blue, and extinguished. Shadow growled and stamped his foot...

But he was rewarded; the doors swung wide open.

Shadow smiled to himself, and ran into the room, Rouge and the others tailing him.

The room was big, but the ceiling was only a little over one story high. It was about eight times as large as a normal living room, and it was extremely boring to look at. Knuckles sneezed when some dust got into his eyes, almost startling Silver with the sudden noise. But Rouge hurried to the center of the room, seeing something nobody else had.

They followed her, and soon saw what she found. None of them would ever forget it: a sword, made of obsidian-tinted gold (blade and all), was stuck in the ground, surrounded by a small pile of dust and pebbles (little did anyone here know that this was all that remained of the ancient house the Sword had landed in, and which the temple had been built around to protect the Sword). Shadow examined it, and faced the others.

"I'd say that if that Sword is as powerful as I sense it is..." Silver said slowly, "Then we just found out why _he_ came here."

Blaze nodded in agreement. "We should secure it, and get it into G.U.N. controlled territory; it'll take Mephiles a lot more effort to get it if we have an army at our backs."

Rouge was surprised at Knuckles; the echidna had said practically nothing insulting since the two groups had been reunited. Not that she was complaining; only intrigued. "Knucky? Something eating you?" she teased.

"I just think... we've forgotten something" the echidna said uncomfortably.

"Indeed you have, you fools."

This was a new voice that spoke, but everybody recognized it; everybody turned around to face the entryway. Knuckles was right; they'd left it wide open, and anybody could've walked right in to intrude on their mission.

This particular someone was Mephiles, flanked by Shade the Echidna and Mauve the Bat.

"I have to thank you Shadow" Mephiles said with an air of smugness. "I wouldn't be here without you, you know."

Shadow wasn't listening; his eyes were trained on the dark being, ignoring even the echidna whom he both hated and respected as a (somewhat) honorable foe... and also looked a lot like Shadow. Mephiles... he had taken everything from Shadow. Mephiles had manipulated the human government into attacking the ARK over fifty years ago in an attempt to both seize Shadow and manipulate the hedgehog (into helping the dark being) early, and give Shadow no other reason to live than for revenge. It was Mephiles who had come between Shadow and Rouge's love on so many occasions. It was Mephiles who wanted to reunite with Iblis, A.K.A. the Flames of Disaster, and combine their powers to create the ultimate state of havoc by destroying time itself (and in so doing, permanently throw the order of the universe into an incomprehensible state). And it was Mephiles who had killed Kaynyx the Wolf, who had been the closest thing Shadow had to a brother.

To say Shadow despised Mephiles was the biggest understatement of the millennia, possibly in history.

"You see, Shadow, I have gone through extensive measures to both locate and acquire the sword that stands near you and your feeble friends" Mephiles continued. "I attacked G.U.N. for information, and had to do a thorough... _extermination _of that one little base to make sure you didn't find out about my second attempt."

"So _you _destroyed that airbase and all the people who served there?!" Silver said with a sneer. "You _are _a monster!"

Mephiles waved his demonic arm with an air of casualty. "Details, details" he said as if bored. "Just please step back and let me have the sword." As he said this, he, Shade, and Mauve stepped forward. Shade glared at the Mobians, and Mauve drew one of his knives, grinning wickedly.

"Dibs on Rouge" the evil bat said with a wicked glimmer in his dark, green eyes.

"Why... do you want this sword so badly?" Blaze asked darkly, speaking Shadow's mind (who was too anger to voice his question).

Mephiles chuckled, which was a bad thing; it meant he knew something that gave him an advantage. "Oh, so intelligent... yet you Mobians are so naive" the dark mockery chuckled, shaking his head. "You see, even I had some memory loss of this weapon; 10,000 years will do that to you. But, once I achieved the full information I needed and came to Angel Island, I remembered it all. You see, that sword will give me the power I need to conquer the universe, regardless of my resources."

Here, Mephiles' voice grew dark and sadistic, and he said; "That is the Havoc Blade... the weapon of the God of Destruction... the Sword of Chaos."


	12. Your hands are drenched in blood

**Chapter Eleven: "Your hands are drenched in blood"**

"So... you were just waiting for us to open this door?!" Shadow finally snarled, getting himself together enough to finally speak. "Why? Shade can wield Chaos Energy; you could've gotten in ahead of us!"

"No, Shadow, you still do not understand" Mephiles said with a sigh. "It wasn't about Chaos Energy; only _you _could open the door. Why, I'm not sure, but you fit the qualifications of the only one who the builders of this temple would dare allow to enter this room. His name was... Scyth, I believe."

Shadow remembered the voice he'd heard awhile earlier; it had mentioned that "only Scyth can be allowed to use Chaos"... why had Scyth been the only one whom the creators of this place saw fit to enter? And who _was _this Scyth, for that matter? And as Mephiles himself had said; why was Shadow able to enter also, and Shade wasn't?

"Scyth was a great hero, back in the day of the Third Great Civilization" Mephiles added to his earlier comment. "Scyth lived long before the Fourth Great Civilization had even began. He was capable of wiping out hundreds of enemies by himself... and I believe he wielded that dagger you now possess, Shadow."

"My dagger? Scyth had it, over 10,000 years ago?" Shadow asked with skepticism.

"Yes, in fact" Mephiles said, sounding increasingly bored. "I believe Gerald Robotnik came across it when he was studying the Gizoid and the rest of the Fourth Great Civilization. I suppose that could lead to my answers (as to your connection to Scyth) eventually, but I honestly don't care." With a gesture from their master, Shade and Mauve moved into battle stances. Shadow's group reacted the same way.

"Only one shall leave with that Sword, Shadow the Hedgehog!" Mephiles snarled, and he and his allies charged the other Mobians. Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles, Silver, and Blaze readied to brace for the impact, knowing victory would be easy, since they outnumbered their foes for once. But right before Mephiles' group struck, Mauve spread his wings and hit them with a gust and sent himself backwards. At the same time, Shade Chaos-Controlled to the other side of the room, and Mephiles melted, slithered, and reformed himself alongside his allies. Shadow was about to smirk and taunt Mephiles, and was about to ask if they were leaving so soon, when he and the others shared a sharp realization.

Realization comes in many forms, but this was the bluntest of all. It came from a slash across Knuckles' back from an unseen blade, a mighty blow from a fist to Silver and Blaze, a surge of forceful energy to Rouge, and being picked up and tossed for Shadow. The realization: Mephiles' charge and retreat had been a feign.

Shadow grunted and turned to look behind him... and what he saw chilled his bones; there were seven beings standing there in varying appearances, all of them fairly similar to Mephiles. Some had horns twisting out of their heads, some had a third eye on their "foreheads", one was crackling with black flames around his hands, and another had a mockery of hair coming down its head. They all shared Mephiles' body-texture, eye-color, and mouthless-faces.

There was no doubt in Shadow's or anyone else's mind: these beings were the fabled Lost Ones, the brethren of Mephiles the Dark.

Mephiles was laughing in triumph when they appeared. "You like them? They're probably the most capable of my followers, and considering Shade serves me, that's saying a lot" the dark being said (Shade nodded respectfully at this). "The one with the burning hands is Hades, my second in command. The beautiful one is Nadrina (the one with hair), and there's Izar, Sparxan, Hurratore, Xar, Consumar, and Bane. Devabrawn isn't here right now, though I'm not certain he could fit into this room. Now, you may recall a rather _chilling _feeling earlier? Yes... that's because the Lost Ones combined into One... Mephistopheles, as you may have heard of. Not that's what they really are as one, but it's a feared name, and from fear, obedience and order are born."

The Mobians let this information soak in. Shadow, Silver, and Blaze faced the Lost Ones while Knuckles and Rouge faced Mephiles, Mauve, and Shade. Rouge looked Mephiles over, quickly glanced over at the menacing group of Lost Ones, and turned to face Mephiles again.

"So... these guys are your brothers and... sister?" Rouge asked heatedly. "I guess that makes you the black sheep of the family. And that dark feeling we felt on our way to the temple... they caused it?"

"Yes... such a shame you had to miss it" Mephiles replied. "It was such a glorious moment, and the Lost Ones can only unite as One every hundred years... but, it is not necessary." And at his gesture, all of the Lost Ones formed a blade on at least one of their arms, and readied for battle.

Shadow leapt at the Lost One called Xar, drawing his dagger and slashing at his foe, who parried it. Bane came to his brother's aid, and rapidly slashed at Shadow, taking the hedgehog off guard with his ferocity, and landed a few cuts on Shadow's arm. But the hedgehog gritted his teeth, and fought on, keeping both Lost Ones in his sights. Thus, Shadow kept both of these demonic enemies at bay awhile.

He was the only one who did, however.

Knuckles was double-teamed by Shade and Mauve, who slashed, kicked, and blasted Chaos Energy at the poor echidna until he was in a frenzy of helplessness, having only landed one glancing punch to Mauve, bruising the bat's arm. Silver had been able to lift up some loose rubble and hurl it at the Lost Ones while Blaze watched his back, but Hades fired a missile, which exploded and knocked the two Mobians off their feet. Before they could comprehend what happened, Nadrina fired a burst of noxious gas at Silver, which made him cough, moan, and fall to the ground, unconscious. The Lost One Hurratore, meanwhile, chuckled and sent a semi-tornado of air-bending forces that sent Blaze spiraling and smashing into walls. But the passionate cat snarled, and used the rush of air to fuel her flames, and blast out and strike Hurratore dead-on, prolonging her assistance in the battle. Rouge, however, was suffering the most humiliating defeat of her life at Mephiles' hands; she was smashed, battered, and blasted around like a rag doll. In a rush of frustration, she kicked Mephiles upside the head and in the torso, making him stumble, but the dark being snarled, and lashed out with a dark whip made of solidified ooze-material, leaving a gash across Rouge's leg. And once Shade had knocked his cousin-by-echidna opponent (Knuckles, obviously) out, Mauve came and landed a sharp blow to Rouge's head, knocking her dizzy and semi-conscious.

With Silver, Knuckles, and Rouge out of the picture (for now), Sparxan assisted Hurratore against Blaze while Nadrina assisted Xar and Bane against Shadow. Blaze lashed at Hurratore in a fiery slash of her hand, and turned to face Sparxan, who pointed his blade at Blaze.

"Prepare, little kitty... to experience hell as you've only imagined!" Sparxan snarled, and targeted his energy at Blaze...

Suddenly, Blaze saw herself and Silver at home, in peace! Blaze thought at first that the whole incident at the temple was a dream...

Until she saw Silver's body laying on the floor, covered in blood.

"SILVER!!!" Blaze screamed, but suddenly, the room darkened and hideous monsters came in. These monsters were from the pits of hell itself; hideous, gleaming fangs licked by a black tongue, and bright, green eyes with no pupils, and claws dripping with white blood.

Paralyzed by fear, Blaze tried to summon her fire powers, but they failed her. In sorrow, she turned to Silver's limp form, hoping that maybe, just maybe, her love would awake and save her...

And at first she did, for Silver looked up at her, smirked, and said; "Surprised?" But before Blaze could respond, Silver's soft, emerald eyes turned bright, acid-green, the pupils vanished from them, his teeth sharpened into fangs, his fur turned into scabbed, diseased, black flesh, and he sank his teeth into Blaze's face...

*In Reality...*

The scenario Sparxan had tortured Blaze with left the poor Mobian sprawled on the floor, moaning and sobbing as the horrifying images played in her mind. The Lost One felt a moment of pride, having inspired such terrible fear in his foe, but reflected on it, knowing that he had just toyed with the Mobian cat; it was only the beginning of the horror he could unleash in one's mind. But this now left only Shadow, who found himself surrounded by the Lost Ones. Realistically, he stood no chance; it was ten to one, and any one of them was more than a match for Shadow, even Mauve (who had survived battling Rouge and Shadow together, by himself).

"Come now, Shadow..." Mephiles mused, staring ahead at his foe. "There is no need for you to die. Stand aside, let me have the Sword, and we shall let you and your allies live. The Sword is all I ask for."

"I would rather die than betray my promise to Maria by letting you have such power, you scum!" Shadow said coldly. The Lost Ones, Mephiles, and Mauve laughed at this remark. Shade, however, only stared uneasily at Shadow, not even glaring... he seemed, uneasy.

"Master... perhaps we should just batter him and leave him living with his dishonor of defeat" Shade said, a note of plead in his voice. "He has put up an honorable fight; can we at least prove ourselves better and show honor in return?"

Mauve spat on the ground at this remark, and Mephiles slowly turned to face his echidna servant. "Honor? Shade, you must learn that your loyalty to me and the Great Cause are far more important than your own personal karma!" he said, spitting the word "karma" as if it left a bad taste on his tongue (it very well might have). So, sighing, Shade nodded and readied his claws into a defensive position. Mephiles the Dark and Shadow the Hedgehog met eyes, neither letting their gaze waver.

"If you're going to kill me Mephiles, make it quick" Shadow said defiantly. "Just humor me and answer me a question before you do so; it's been bugging me for awhile."

"That depends on what you're asking" Mephiles sneered.

"Well, I was wondering; all those years ago, when Rouge, Omega and I battled you in the desert on Soleanna, how did you survive and come back from that? I know Shade helped you back to health the other two times..."

"Ah, a good question, and I shall indulge you" Mephiles said arrogantly. "Quite simple, though. Regardless, I will always reform myself after you 'kill' me; Shade merely accelerated the process both after you defeated me on the mountains when I had _finally _reunited with Iblis, and again, when that blasted wolf stopped me on the Aero Fortress. But simply put; I cannot be destroyed, only torn apart. The more thorough job you do, the longer it is that you'll hear from me again. But I can always think, plot my next move, and bide my time while I heal. And the Lost Ones you see here are much the same way, only their body-material is more dependent on physical limitations; they _can _be destroyed. But you won't see that happen." And with that Mephiles raised his blade into the air.

Shadow readied his dagger to parry the blow, but then something happened that wanted to make him run away, laugh, cry, and scream all at the same time...

Maria Robotnik pushed herself past the circle of Lost Ones, and embraced Shadow.

"Oh Shadow, I've missed you so much!" Maria sobbed, and Shadow felt her tears soak into his shoulder, but he slowly eased away from her, dropping his dagger in shock, staring wide-eyed at Maria.

"N-No... y... you're not Maria..." Shadow said, dumbfounded, tears welling in his eyes at the sight of his beloved friend.

"No, Shadow! It really is me!" Maria cried. "Please, let's get out of here and save your friends, and go back to the ARK! Please, Shadow, let us go!"

"NO! This... th-this is some sort of trickery!" Shadow yelled, frustration and grief contorting his features.

Maria stared at Shadow awhile, and then her eyes suddenly flickered green, she smiled sadistically, and transformed...

Into Rouge the Bat.

"Rouge" was wearing an outfit she'd worn when she and Shadow had first met Omega (her _Sonic Heroes _outfit), and she smiled deviously. Suddenly, the Lost One called Xar transformed into Omega, and "Rouge" put her hand on "Omega's" hand.

"Ah yeah, baby!" 'Rouge' said. "This makes us a team!"

Mephiles suddenly laughed at the confused look on Shadow's face.

"Yes... Xar and Devabrawn are my best at that ability" Mephiles said with pride. "I myself can only make myself look like a normal Mobian hedgehog, and a G.U.N. officer here and there. Devabrawn, as a matter of fact, transformed himself into the President of the United Nations and used the guise to enter that airbase you had."

"You... you're a monster" Shadow hissed, and quickly picked his dagger up again.

"Shadow... you have yet to see what I am capable of" Mephiles said. "My plans of vengeance on you have only begun to unfold. Your friend Maria and the wolf were only the beginning. Next, your wife shall die before your eyes, and then these other allies. Then, I shall force you to see the deaths of thousands of the humans you are sworn to protect. It shall be as if killing your _children!_ I shall kill all you love, all you protect..."

Mephiles' voice grew cold, and his eyes narrowed as he finished by saying;

"Until your hands are drenched in blood."

The Lost Ones attacked in a flurry of movement; Bane slashed rapidly at Shadow, and since the hedgehog was still shaken by Devabrawn and Xar's transformations, the dagger Shadow wielded clattered to the ground. Then, defenseless, Shadow only dodged a few of the slashes that Bane's frenzied attacks sent at him. Then, Nadrina blasted a dart of acid at Shadow, which the hedgehog barely dodged, and the acid still nicked his shoulder, making him grit his teeth in pain.

But the assault was far from over; Devabrawn fired multiple missiles of swords; Hades blasted black, flaming infernos; Hurratore sent Shadow smashing into multiple walls with his torrents of energy; Sparxan sent a quake of fire through the ground that smashed Shadow into the ceiling; and Mephiles himself slashed Shadow across the leg, picked up the wounded hedgehog, slammed him into the ground, and then used a burst of energy to smash Shadow into the nearest wall, and then hit him with a dark, merciless whip.

Shadow hadn't been this wounded since Shade and hundreds of other enemies had teamed up on him in Central City, over two years ago. He was on all fours, panting, bleeding, and at least one of his bones were broken. Mephiles stood before his enemy, and laughed mockingly, the Lost Ones echoing it.

"Ultimate Life Form? Oh, how disappointed Gerald would be!" Mephiles cackled, and then kicked Shadow in the stomach, breaking a rib and forcing the hedgehog to collapse with a groan. Shadow gritted his teeth, and using a final burst of strength, he lashed out with his fist and struck Mephiles across the face, sending the dark being spiraling and stumbling to the ground. The Lost Ones moved in to strike Shadow down, but the hedgehog gathered his power, his hatred for Mephiles, and the frustration of his current situation.

"Chaos... BLAST!" Shadow cried, and the explosive energy sent all the Lost One smashing into the floor, or one of the walls. Xar shook the dizziness from his head and glared at the hedgehog.

"His defiance and endurance is remarkable..." he muttered grudgingly, but Sparxan shoved him aside, steaming with wrath as he approached Shadow, who could barely stand with his exhaustion. But Mephiles dashed past him and beat Sparxan to his target, and then struck Shadow across the face. And this time, Shadow could not find the strength to stand again, having spent the last of it in his final, defiant attack.

Mephiles took in a long, hissing breath and then stalked over to where the Sword of Chaos was imbedded in the ground. Hades and Devabrawn (who had now assumed his standard, tall, bulky form) walked up to the Sword with their master, the others keeping an eye on Shadow and the other Mobians in case they tried to counterattack one final time. Mephiles then slowly reached for the Sword, and grasped the golden hilt...

Energy as he never imagined flowed through him, and suddenly, his body shimmered with pure, night-black energy, and two, long, twisted horns grew from his head. When the energy cleared, Mephiles was also about a foot taller, and his new horns crackled with black flames. In reverence of their master's new, awe-inspiring, and intimidating appearance, Shade the Echidna, Hades and all the other Lost Ones bowed (Mauve just stared at them with a nervous expression).

Mephiles held the Havoc Blade high in the air, its power shimmering brightly. Then, all the other Lost Ones came and kneeled before him, chanting; "All Hail Mephiles! All Hail Mephiles, the Dark!"

"Now, my followers, our victory is inevitable!" Mephiles cried. "With the power of Chaos's Sword, I can cut through dimensions! Iblis and I shall be reunited, and then the universe shall revert into doom and havoc!" With that, Mephiles pointed the Sword of Chaos at the far wall, and thousands of Chaos Spears erupted from the tip of the blade, and eventually, they burned a hole through the sturdy wall. Mephiles slowly approached it, flanked by the Lost Ones. The dark being turned around to face them all.

"Izar, Nadrina, Sparxan; remain here and make sure that Shadow and the others are dead" Mephiles stated. "By defeating him, crushing his allies, and allowing him to live a few moments with the knowledge that he has lost, failed the girl whom I killed on the ARK, and there is no hope for him, shall be my vengeance on him. Shade, Mauve, Hades, and my fellow Lost Ones, come; a universe of darkness awaits!" and with that, they departed, leaving only Nadrina, Izar, and Sparxan behind to finish their grisly work.

"Oh, I shall enjoy this..." Izar chuckled darkly, drawing a dark blade from his arm. "Who shall we kill first?"

"Well, I'm sorry to say I disagree with our master; he hasn't avenged himself on the hedgehog enough" Nadrina stated coolly.

"Oh, I agree with you, my sister" Sparxan hissed. "In fact... I think Shadow is going to be much more fun to torment than the cat was..."

Izar kicked at Shadow's limp form, and the hedgehog's eyes blazed open, glaring at the Lost Ones; Shadow had regained a small measure of strength. To further his defiance, Shadow pushed himself onto his knees, and shakily stood up again, clutching the dagger with a death-like grip.

"You... should've gone with Mephiles..." Shadow said, painfully but heatedly. "I'll kill all three of you... right... here..." Shadow stumbled a little, but caught himself. The Lost Ones only chuckled in unison.

"Nadrina, you watch over the other Mobians; Izar, once I've weakened his will, move in and... ah, '_puppeteer_' him" Sparxan instructed with a deep maliciousness.

"Oh no, I'm not missing this" Nadrina chuckled. Sparxan only shrugged, and targeted his powers at Shadow.

"GO BACK TO HELL!!" Shadow roared, but instantly, everything went black...

And a moment later, it was bright again... only now, he wasn't in the Temple of Chaos: he was on Space Colony ARK.

"Huh- what?!" Shadow gasped, and looked around; he was alone, his body was uninjured, and the dagger Kaynyx had given him was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Shadow heard footsteps running towards him, and to his relief, he saw that it was Rouge.

"Rouge! Thank God, what happened?" Shadow said, smiling despite his confusion. Rouge said nothing, only staring at him coldly. Confused even further, Shadow took a step towards her, his arms open.

"Did the Lost Ones transport-" but suddenly, Rouge slapped Shadow across the face. The blow itself only stung a bit, but the shock of it sent Shadow reeling and falling onto his backside. With wide eyes, he looked up at Rouge, who's aqua eyes blazed with a heartless fire.

"R-Rouge?" Shadow mumbled. Rouge only scoffed, and literally spat on Shadow, which made the hedgehog stand to his feet almost instantly with anger. "What the hell is wrong with you? Can't I even say hello to my wife?!"

Rouge only scoffed again. "'Wife'?" she asked mockingly. "Who the fuck would want to marry you? You're not even a real hedgehog! The fuck with you!" With that, Rouge shoved Shadow aside, and stormed off.

"W-what?!" Shadow called, and ran after her. "You don't mean that! How can you even _say _that, after all we've been through together?! I love you, Rouge!"

"I HATE YOU!!" Rouge screamed back at him, and shoved Shadow with all her might, slamming him into a wall. "I only married you so I could get rich sharing your salary, and having a kid to train as a treasure hunter! But, I don't need to pretend to be one anymore! What have you given me, Shadow? Embarrassments by saving me? I'd rather die with my jewels than be with you!" Rouge stuck her tongue out of Shadow, and every word rang with such sincerity, it struck Shadow to the core of his being.

Tears began to well behind Shadow's eyes. "N-No, Rouge... how... I..." he stammered, but his nightmare was just beginning...

The two of them turned to see someone else Shadow recognized run into the room: Maria Robotnik.

At first, Shadow thought it was another trick being played by the Lost Ones, but then, those very villains appeared behind Maria, Mephiles leading them as they chased the helpless girl. Maria spotted Shadow, and embraced him.

"Shadow, please! Help me fight them off!" Maria pleaded, clasping Shadow's hand, who still refused to believe it was Maria.

"N-No... you're not Maria!" Shadow said, and backed away from her. Maria pursued him. "Shadow, pl-" she was cut off as a gunshot suddenly went off, and her blue dress blossomed with blood... just like it had over fifty years ago.

"Oh my, Shadow..." Mephiles chuckled, and the Lost Ones laughed in unison. "Seems to me you should've helped her. But, you failed... _again!_" And he, the Lost Ones, and even Rouge burst out laughing.

Shadow was in pure hell, caught between sobbing, screaming, and killing himself to escape this horrible madness.

*Back in reality*

Shadow was on the ground, writhing and moaning as Sparxan played with the darkest parts of Shadow's mind and soul. Izar watched with folded arms, and Nadrina watched the hedgehog squirm in agony, her head drooping lazily to one side. Finally, Izar lost his patience, and turned to face Sparxan.

"Shall I possess him now?" he asked hungrily. Sparxan gave a curt nod, replying; "His mind is in chaos, his heart and soul are weak and demoralized now; his willpower shall offer little resistance."

Izar eyed the defenseless hedgehog, and his green eyes glittered wickedly. His body then melted into a pool of liquid, and then crept up onto Shadow's writhing form. At first, the hedgehog didn't seem to notice, but what little willpower he had forced his hands to swipe lazily at Izar's liquid form. Soon, however, the liquid began to latch onto Shadow, harden, and spread up his body...

*With the Mobians*

Rouge the Bat finally shook off her dizziness, Silver had regained consciousness, and Blaze – though still shaken – had managed to pull through her fears shortly after Sparxan had lost interest in her. Knuckles, though in pain, still managed a groan, open his eyes, and the fire that fueled him sparked and blazed again. Rouge, however, felt a lump in her throat when she noticed three things; the Sword of Chaos was gone, Mephiles and his cronies were gone...

And three Lost Ones were standing before Shadow, one of them in liquid form.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!!!" Rouge screamed, leapt to her feet, and ran at the Lost Ones. Nadrina noticed the bat first, snarled, and then leapt at Rouge. Rouge somersaulted, dodged Nadrina's initial attack, and kicked the Lost One in the back of the head. Before Sparxan could intervene, however, Silver picked up the evil being with his telekinesis, and smashed the Lost One into a wall, and then hit him with a neural shock, making Sparxan lose control of his body for a few moments, and allowing Silver to gather more power. Once he had, the psychic hedgehog shouted out as he slammed Sparxan into the wall so hard, he heard a satisfying _*crack!* _sound. Nadrina had kicked Rouge aside, however, and blasted a wave of acid at Silver, who quickly flew himself over the attack. But before Nadrina could press the attack, Blaze blasted a torrent of flames at the Lost Ones, sending Nadrina's smoldering form to smash into Sparxan. Then, Rouge turned her attention to Shadow's form, which seemed darker, somehow. Silver and Blaze hurried over to help Rouge while Knuckles pushed himself up, and went to make sure the Lost Ones were down.

Rouge put her hand on Shadow's form, which felt strangely cold. "Shadow?" she asked softly. "You okay-?" but then, Shadow suddenly let out an ear-piercing screech, and swatted them all aside, knocking them on their backs. Rouge shook the surprise off, and looked at Shadow in horror...

Izar's possession over Shadow had transformed Shadow into a mockery of what the hedgehog once looked like; Shadow's skin and fur now resembled Mephiles' texture of dark, purple, stone-like features. Shadow's powerful, handsome red eyes and black pupils were replaced by large, green slits with no pupils. Shadow's mouth split into a hideous grin of fangs, and a long, black, snake-like tongue licked the teeth in anticipation of blood...

Rouge's, Silver's, and Blaze's blood, that is.

Shadow – or, more so Izar – opened his mouth, and spoke in a deep, disoriented groaning-voice; "Now, you see what the Lost Ones are capable of! Mephiles the Dark's plan shall succeed! And now, Mobians, you shall die by the hand of one of your own!" And Shadow's form leapt at the Mobians, his hands forming claws.

Rouge ducked out of the way, but Izar tackled Silver down and the two of them struggled. If not for the psychic barrier Silver had between them, Izar would've easily overpowered the hedgehog, now that his and Shadow's strength were one. But Blaze intervened, and smashed into Izar in a cyclone of fire. The Lost One tumbled away, and gnashed its teeth angrily. Rouge then got back onto her feet, and though it pained her to do so, she kicked at Shadow's form, sending Izar rolling across the floor. But, to worsen their dilemma, Sparxan and Nadrina got back on their feet. Knuckles managed to punch Nadrina out of the way, but Sparxan blasted a quake of fire at the echidna, forcing him on the defensive.

"Silver!" Blaze shouted. "Try and help Knuckles; don't let that Lost One use his ability to play mind-tricks!" The psychic hedgehog faced his girlfriend, and though it pained him to leave Blaze in her fight, he knew the Mobian cat was right. Then, he rushed forward to back up Knuckles. Blaze and Rouge, meanwhile, tried to think of a way of getting Izar off of Shadow without killing the hedgehog.

"Well... perhaps I could melt through the creature's layer and Shadow could fight his own way out..." Blaze suggested. Rouge shook her head, though.

"No... Shadow's probably too tired and injured to fight through something like this, or he wouldn't have been possessed in the first place!" Rouge said with mounting frustration. "Maybe... maybe he can hear me!" So Rouge slowly took a few steps towards Izar's snarling host, which hesitated, giving Rouge a bit of encouragement. Izar ran his tongue over the teeth his skin had transformed, anticipating the warmth of Rouge's blood.

"Shadow, can you hear me?" Rouge said softly. "Please, listen; I don't know what that Lost One did, but don't believe it! Shadow, I know you're stronger than this! Fight off the fear and the illusions, and come back! Please, Shadow!"

Izar's eyes flickered briefly, and silence fell upon them, save for Knuckles and Silver's battle against Sparxan and Nadrina. For a moment, Shadow's black pupils seemed to flicker in Izar's eyes, and the teeth dulled from fangs for a moment, but Izar hissed, his form resumed its full power, and he leapt at Rouge, slashing her and slamming her to the ground, snarling.

Blaze ran forward, her hands simmering with heat, but Izar pointed his hand at her, and yelled in his distorted voice; "Chaos SPEAR!" and five large bolts of energy fired out. Three of them missed, but one sent Blaze flying into the air, and the fifth exploded in midair, temporarily blinding the cat with its flash. So, gritting her teeth, Rouge jumped back to her feet, and jump-kicked Izar in the torso. The Lost One pitched forward, but rolled to his knees and stood to face Rouge again. Izar licked his teeth again, and his ooze-material formed a large, bone-like mace on the end of his right arm (the same mace he was known and feared for). Rouge stopped, thinking it would be best to keep her distance, knowing how potentially powerful someone similar to Mephiles could be. So, she drew five bombs, and hurled them at Izar. The Lost One saw it coming, and made use of Shadow's Chaos Control to warp behind Rouge...

But the bat was all-too familiar with this move, and rear-kicked Izar so hard, she heard a *_crack!*_ noise. Hoping it was Izar who had suffered it more, Rouge turned to face her loved one, hoping she could give Shadow the power to break through Izar's resistance. Obviously, the hedgehog had tried, but Izar's will was currently too strong to be broken. So, racking her brain as quickly as she could, Rouge did the only thing she could think of that would both weaken Izar and strengthen Shadow:

She leapt forward, and kissed Izar on the lips.

The Lost One's eyes widened, and at first, Rouge thought she was going to die from the cold "lips", but to her satisfaction, she felt them becoming warmer...

*Shadow's mindset...*

The hedgehog, whose nightmares still fogged and diluted his willpower, felt a burst of love and affection, and knew that despite what the nightmares said, Rouge still loved her Shadow. So, clinging to that hope, Shadow fought through the darkness, and the light that was his hope grew brighter and brighter...

Finally, reality returned to Shadow, and he felt his strength return, if only partially.

Then, he tore at Izar's form, which was melting with Shadow's overwhelming willpower. Once Rouge could see the real Shadow beneath Izar's guise, she helped Shadow tear away at the Lost One, and finally, Izar was but a writhing puddle on the ground. Shadow shakily stood on his feet, and he and Rouge shared a long, penetrating gaze. Then, they embraced each other, their lips meeting and warmth spread through them both. When it broke, Shadow's ruby-red eyes shimmered with tears, but still he smiled, only being able to mouth; "Thank you."

But the battle was far from over.

Izar soon regained his original form, and glared at the two Mobians with pure hatred. Shadow and Rouge returned the glare, and met the Lost One's attack.

"You may have removed me of my host, but I am still superior!" Izar chortled, swinging his mace to keep his opponents back. Shadow watched his wife's back, afraid that if he charged right in, his weakness would interfere and get him killed. Rouge, her timing careful and precise, ducked under the mace, and kicked Izar dead in the face. The Lost One snarled and fired a blade, but Rouge sidestepped it, and threw another bomb to distract Izar. Then, gathering his full reserve of energy, Shadow used his Chaos Emerald to slow time.

"Payback time, you bastard!" Shadow snarled, and concentrated his energy to his hands. "Chaos... LANCE!!" he shouted, and a large, red, piercing beam blasted from Shadow's hand and hit Izar dead-on in the torso. The Lost One howled in agony, and fell to the ground. Izar shriveled up, and his form exploded.

Shadow leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths to relieve his exhaustion. Finally, he found the strength to stand again, and approached Rouge. The ivory bat grinned in glee of their victory, and pecked Shadow on the cheek, saying; "Aren't you glad I made you, Omega and I a team?" Shadow only smirked and chuckled. But, then they turned their attention to Sparxan and Nadrina. Shadow held back a moment, letting his energy recharge a bit more, and then he and Rouge ran at the Lost Ones who were fighting Knuckles and Silver.

At first, Sparxan's and Nadrina's attacks kept the four of them at bay with their swords, Sparxan's searing flames and strength, and Nadrina's noxious fumes of death and her merciless acid sprays. At one point, Sparxan's hand formed a deadly, multi-whip weapon that spun around like a lethal helicopter blade, and Rouge suffered a sharp blow to her leg from it. But then Blaze rejoined the fight, and after a merciless combination of Rouge's martial arts skills and bombs, Silver's psychic blasts, Blaze's searing flames, Knuckles' raw power, and Shadow's affinity to Chaos Powers, the Lost Ones retreated towards the hole in the wall.

"Don't let those heartless beasts escape!" Silver cried, but Nadrina hit Silver with a blast of acid, making the hedgehog scream in agony and fall to his knees. Luckily, Tikal had given Blaze some healing supplies before they left, so the Mobian cat was able to quickly go to the wound before it became serious. Then, Sparxan and Nadrina addressed Shadow.

"You have proved that you are mighty adversaries, even for us!" Sparxan snarled. "But, though our brother Izar lies dead, you have only but tasted the wrath of the Lost Ones! And now, Mephiles the Dark has become more powerful than ever; our darkness shall burn this land to the ground!" Sparxan chuckled evilly at his own statement, and Nadrina nodded.

"Yes, you pathetic heart-beaters!" the female Lost One hissed. "Now that we know what you are capable of, you shall all whither and die when next we meet! The loss of Izar is a minor defeat only; it shall serve to make us all show no mercy, even that fool Xar. Now, Mobians, farewell, and let darkness cloud and twist your every dream into a nightmare!" Laughing, the two Lost Ones became shapeless masses of ooze-like darkness, and blasted off into the darkening sky outside with jet-like speed.

Shadow cursed, and slumped against the wall, more mentally tired than physically tired. Rouge put an arm around him, offering him an encouraging smile, which comforted Shadow a little, and he smiled back. Silver's wound had burned away a patch of his fur and left a first-degree burn, but Blaze had tended to it shortly, and the psychic hedgehog was able to move without much of a hitch.

Knuckles finally broke the silence; "Well, we proved one thing; those guys aren't as tough as they think they are!" he said, and slammed his fists together for emphasis. "And, we're all still alive! Hah! Wait until Tikal hears about this!" Silver and Blaze nodded in agreement. "I should think Mephiles won't be so confident the next time we meet him" Blaze added. "Next time, we'll hopefully have more Mobians on our side, like Sonic, Amy, Tails, or maybe the Chaotix. Maybe that one mech you travel with, Shadow?"

"Omega? Yeah... we could've used him here today" Shadow replied. Then he sighed. "But, even if we killed several more Lost Ones, Mephiles always has Shade and Mauve backing him up, and they'll always compensate for the weakness of whatever soldiers serve under them." Shadow glared at the ground awhile, and retrieved his dagger, and looked at it awhile.

"Kaynyx... we could really use your help right now" Shadow whispered at the dagger, knowing it was foolish, but didn't care; he missed his almost-brother now more than ever. Rouge patted Shadow on the back, lightening Shadow's sorrow, but only a little. Clearing his throat, Knuckles spoke again.

"Hey, I think we should get back; Tikal's probably worried, and shouldn't we tell G.U.N. about this too?" he suggested. Silver and Blaze nodded, but Shadow ignored them. He was about to put his dagger away, when he heard something...

"_One more moment, Shadow..._"

Swiveling his head around to see who'd spoken, the group suddenly felt a cool breeze hit the room, but not from the direction of the hole in the wall. Turning, they saw a flash of light, and then a comforting warmth hit them. And everyone gasped, for it seemed that, standing not five feet in front of them...

Was a gray ghost of Shadow.


	13. The Ultimate Power, One Step in Destiny

**Chapter Twelve: The Ultimate Power; One Step in Destiny**

Shadow reflexively drew his dagger; he had met ghosts before, particularly in Eggman's castle that had been attacked by the Black Arms. But he knew that his dagger, unless it had hidden powers, probably wouldn't do much good against a spectrum that had the stature of this hedgehog that looked so much like him. Knuckles, too, had encountered ghosts before on Pumpkin Hill, several years ago when he and Rouge had raced each other to find all the pieces of the Master Emerald. But the echidna was still startled by the similarity between Shadow and this ghost; their quills were in the same design, their eyes narrowed similarly, and they even both had white chest hair on them; the only difference was their color; this ghost was gray-colored, not black. The others merely backed Shadow, waiting to see if this ghost would prove hostile or not.

Finally, the ghost took a step towards Shadow, and it smiled slightly. _"Your feat against those devilish naves is... striking, Shadow..." _it said gently. "_I see we have more in common than I imagined. The aged-mortal of white-wisdom did well with his labor, it would appear." _

Shadow lowered his dagger, but remained on guard. He recognized the voice now; it was the same one that let him open the door. "So... you would by Scyth, then?" Shadow asked. The ghost only nodded. "And when you say 'the aged mortal of white-wisdom'... do you mean Gerald Robotnik?"

Scyth frowned slightly. "_Robotnik?" _he asked, confused. "_Perhaps... I cannot remember; I only know of him because I saw him come here, perhaps half a century ago or more... I have lost track of time over the centuries. But yes; it seems more familiar than other words."_

"How... how did you know he created me?" Shadow asked. Scyth smiled, and answered; "_I examined his dreams while he slept nearby here in his research; as I was no longer a physical being when he came, it was fairly easy to drift into his thoughts.. He was thinking about creating the 'Ultimate Life Form', and was researching the Gizoid's origin as well. He found the Gizoid a bit later, and used it to study the Ultimate Life Form."_

"You... drifted into his thoughts?" Shadow asked in wonder. "So... he got the idea of shaping me from seeing you in his dreams? Is that why you and I look so similar?"

"_Partially, yes, but, if you must know, the man you call 'Robotnik' examined the dagger, which the devil-essence already told you belonged to me. Upon examining it, the aged-mortal found skin cells that I had left behind on it, and used that to help reproduce your body and some of my powers. The rest of your powers and building, however, were entirely original."_

The room went silent... If what Scyth said was true, than, in a way, the ghost of the hedgehog before them was Shadow's father.

"So..." Shadow whispered, putting the pieces together in his mind, "Gerald used his own research on the Gizoid, Black Doom's help, and Scyth's DNA to create me; that would at least partially explain my immortality. The fact that my fur hasn't grayed like Scyth's must be due to Black Doom's intervention. Scyth had an affinity for Chaos, and because we share similar DNA, I was able to make it into this room, since Scyth was the only one the builders trusted to be near the Sword of Chaos! And Black Doom added some of his own DNA to cancel out Scyth's DNA so I shared some of the same powers as he did, but because of that, I could also use Chaos Blast and Chaos Control on such a massive scale! Yes! It all makes sense!" Shadow's face split into a grin, his past finally set right and clear. Though Shadow had set it behind him, it comforted him to know who he was without a shadow of a doubt (no pun intended).

"But... why did you tell me to open the door?" Shadow asked. "If it had remained closed, Mephiles wouldn't have gotten the Sword!"

Scyth sighed, and his eyes- similar to Shadow's – became softer, somehow. "_Because, my son-in-soul, I had to know if a descendant – however remotely so- of mine existed today, and if they could wield the true power of Dark Burner" _he replied. _"I have felt the dark power rising in this land; the one who calls himself 'Mephiles', the traitor of virtue and shameful murderer of serenity has been growing stronger, and if his plan succeeds, his power shall soon surpass even that of Chaos. Someone must be given the knowledge and power of Dark Burner, or we shall all fail and fall into everlasting chaos and darkness."_

"What is this 'Dark Burner', huh?" Silver asked. "Some sort of relic in this temple? Something that was buried with you?"

"_No, good hedgehog" _Scyth replied. _"Shadow carries it with him even now; the dagger he wields."_

Shadow looked at the said weapon, Dark Burner. He twirled it between his fingers a few times, and looked at Scyth again, asking; "Well, it is a convenient weapon, and it's expertly crafted, but what makes it so special beyond that?"

Scyth chuckled. _"Forgive me, but it really is rather simple; all you need to do is focus a bit of Chaos Energy from your hand to the hilt, and the blade shall triple your reserve of Chaos Energy, burn through any darkness in your mind, and burn through your enemies as if they were parchment."_

Intrigued, Shadow did as he was told... and a memory he would never forget came to be: Dark Burner's golden blade flashed a bright-white for a second, and then, a blade shimmered out; it was scarlet and amber, and seemed solid save for its feature of being semi-transparent. Shadow suddenly felt strength ripple through him, his mind became sharp and clear, and his physical exhaustion wore away. The fiery blade of pure Chaos Energy (three times as long as the solid-metal gold blade) had the same designs and curves a normal blade would, and Shadow could even see a few of the same runes on the actual blade were reflected on the blade of fire. Rouge laughed in amazement, and clapped a few times along with Silver and Blaze, making Shadow feel embarrassed (Knuckles just stared at the blade, unbelieving).

Scyth smiled. "_May the forces of evil wickedness fall before you, Shadow the Hedgehog. And, though I did not have a wife who gave birth to you, I still feel compelled to add this; I am proud of you, my son-in-soul",_ and Scyth's ghost vanished in another warm breeze.

Shadow smiled softly, and at his mental command, the blade's energy went away, but it still left him feeling more energized than before. Rouge hugged Shadow, happy both for her husband, and for the fact that they now had another tool against Mephiles.

As they left the temple, Knuckles finally spoke up, saying; "So... that guy was your dad?" he asked. Shadow only laughed, nodding.

*Central City: President's Home, the next day*

In the President's office, many negotiations had occurred here. Most had been in uniting most of the world's nations to join G.U.N. and appoint the President as the leader of the United Nations. Only Soleanna remained independent, but it was allied with G.U.N., all the same. But now, most unusual parties were gathered in the office, two of which the President allowed in with great reluctance: Dr. Eggman, along with three mech bodyguards, and Black Fist, flanked by two Black Arms elites. The only other people in the room were the G.U.N. Commander, a G.U.N. agent armed with a pistol, and E-123 Omega, acting as both the Commander's and the President's bodyguard. Surrounding the building were hundreds of G.U.N. soldiers, ready to rush in should either Black Fist or Eggman attempt an assassination.

"Now, let me go over this again, Commander" the President said tiredly. "Dr. Eggman, one of our greatest enemies, and the Black Arms, who have committed dozens of terrorist acts against us in the past, are joining us. And they are joining us to combat a foe who is stronger than all of us combined, and that you and the rest of the military command staff approved of this alliance with my consent only because I _didn't know_ it would Eggman and the Black Arms we were allying with. And, to top it all off, Shadow, Rouge, Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles haven't been heard from in several hours, and last we knew, they'd just gotten back from Mobius before we lost contact with our base on Angel Island. Did I miss anything?"

The Commander cleared his throat. "No, sir, that pretty much sums it up, Mr. President" he said.

The President sighed, and rubbed his temples. "Very well, Commander; if Dr. Eggman and the Black Arms are willing to join us without much trouble, I agree; they're our best hope" he admitted. "But, I still really don't know what we're up against, exactly. I've only heard vague reports from Team Dark, Silver the Hedgehog, and several Soleanna citizens of what Mephiles is like, and the forces he commands. Please, Commander, or any of you; tell me exactly what it is Mephiles plans to do."

It was Black Fist who spoke: "Mephiles is evil embodied, President. His plan is to unite with a powerful being known as Iblis, also known as the Flames of Disaster in Soleanna legend, or so I'm told. Mephiles seeks to cause havoc and death wherever he goes, and thereby increasing his and the Lost Ones' power. The Lost Ones are like his brethren, and are extremely dangerous, especially united, but are weaker than Mephiles to the point where he can control them. It was Mephiles who forced us off our planet, darkening it with his power and leaving billions of monsters behind to seize it. That is why Black Doom brought a sizeable force to your planet: to control it and gain a new homeworld."

"Ah" the President said, trying to keep his eyes from glaring at Black Fist and remaining polite. "So... Mephiles plans to do the same to this planet, then?" Black Fist nodded. "But what happens once Mephiles reunites with this, 'Iblis'?"

It was Dr. Eggman who answered that question; "With Iblis' destructive power and wrath that knows no bounds, combined with Mephiles' dark, cunning, immortal, unholy might, create one single, powerful being. In Soleanna, they once worshipped Solaris as their Sun God, until their current sovereign, Queen Elise (who was a princess at this precise time), learned what Solaris truly was." The sinister doctor sighed to himself. "I once tried to wield the power of Solaris, as Elise's father tried to, many years ago. But alas, the time-line was forever changed because of Iblis' death; only Mephiles remained. Silver the Hedgehog's time, _our _future, was saved from Iblis, and everyone forgot Iblis' existence, save for the memory of Mephiles' doings and involvement with Iblis. However, due to Mephiles' survival, Elise's father still died... whether because of Mephiles or some other cause, I can't say."

The President nodded, and turned to Black Fist. "So, this Mephiles... how large is his army?" he asked. "Shall I reinstate our high-need of recruitment?"

Black Fist smiled grimly. "I wouldn't bother, Mr. President" he said heavily. "The only way we'd win is with a large number of soldiers who have battled at least two, maybe three times in their life, and gotten a full taste of battle and experience each time. Raw-recruits would just get in the way. But, as for your first question; Mephiles' army shall grow larger with every moment he takes to build it. Over fifty billion of his monsters assaulted our homeworld; it probably took him roughly ten months to create it. Only a little over six billion remained when we finally retreated off world, but only a million of _us_ were left, and more than half of them were civilians. It took well over two centuries to make our army the mighty empire it once was. My guess is that Mephiles' army will consist of one or two billion, if we're _lucky_."

The President and the Commander exchanged a worried glance, praying that Black Fist exaggerated. But there was no doubt; they were facing the most massive army ever assembled. Even with Eggman's, Mobius', and the Black Arms' assistance, they'd still be terribly outnumbered. Sighing, the President faced the Commander.

"What is our preliminary count of total soldiers, mechs included?" he asked. The Commander thought a moment, checked with Eggman's and Black Fist's army roster, did the math, and replied; "Roughly 120 million; twenty seven million are ours, counting Soleanna's army of two and a half million; Eggman's army of nineteen and a half million mechs, but several thousand of them are extremely powerful, capable of taking out maybe a thousand enemies each; and Black Fist's military takes up the rest. I understand it that 1 million of them are spread out to defend the Comets you have in orbit, Black Fist?" The alien nodded once.

"Very well, Commander" the President sighed. "We have well over a decade's food supply at our fortress, and from there, with our entire army gathered, along with Sonic and the other Mobians who help us, we can outlast them. I will propose this to the senate; to order a mass evacuation of the planet. Surely the vote will be anonymous, and as President, I can hold a fairly effective influence in favor of the vote. Commander, I want you to prepare all citizens for a mass evacuation; they have until the senate decides to evacuate to the fortress, which I'm guessing will be three days, maybe four. Also, Commander, I want a hundred thousand more troops here in Central City, along with another hundred ships until the evacuation is done; the senate must be protected until we move out." The Commander nodded. Then the President turned to face Dr. Eggman.

"Doctor, I must ask if you wouldn't mind positioning a few thousand of your ships at the fortress until we have it completely secured; Mephiles may want to capture it while its defenses are thin" the President said.

Eggman nodded. "Of course, Mr. President; from what I have learned of your fortress, I concur that Mephiles will likely want to capture such a strategic location before we can use it to our benefit" he said professionally. "However, know this; as soon as Mephiles is defeated for good, I will be giving G.U.N. a two week-recover period before I resume my war against you... unless you wish to serve me now as my underlings; you would be well-sheltered under my empire."

The Commander almost drew his pistol on the doctor for his insolence, but Omega was less polite; his arm immediately swiveled to a machine turret, and aimed right at Eggman, his eyes glowing a brighter red than before. Eggman's mechs took aim, and Black Fist's bodyguards prepared to defend their leader should a fight break out. The President, however, stood up and slammed his fist on the table for quiet, and everyone lowered their weapons a bit.

"This is pointless!" the leader of the United Federation barked. "Mephiles is our real enemy! If we turn our guns against ourselves, he will have already won! Now, Doctor; I will respect your offer; but make it three weeks and we'll have a deal, or the Guardian Units of Nations, Commander Kael's Mobian army, and the Black Arms shall turn on you together! I am confident that, in your weakened state and with the Mobians on our side, we could vanquish you and still have a solid chance against Mephiles, who won't likely be too eager to let you join him for safety, either."

Eggman sighed, and nodded. "Very well; your logic is inarguable" he admitted, "And you're right; Mephiles won't be eager to join me, nor I him; him berating me, and me revolting against him when he usurped rule of my Empire. Our best chance is to stand as one, strong faction against his one, strong faction. However, Mr. President, while we are allies, you have no command over me, nor I command over you or your forces, unless either of us agree to it. I shall do as I see fit to help defeat Mephiles, and will only act on your orders if I agree with it."

"You're in no position to make demands, Robotnik!" the Commander growled. "Your army was spared on our whim, when we could've annihilated you once and for all!" But before he could continue to yell at the arrogant doctor, the President held his hand up for silence.

"I shall honor your decisions, doctor" the President said. "And you will have a stricter command over your own forces, but I expect cooperation from you between our armies; the other forces against you shall quickly overwhelm anyone who tries to take unreasonable command over the other. Therefore, I shall hold myself to that; you and Black Fist may keep me and the Commander in check to make sure that we don't try to dominate your armies entirely to our own decisions. However, Dr. Eggman, the Commander has a valid point; technically, you surrendered to us once we brought you into G.U.N. territory under guard. Therefore, we can have you do anything we want, or we could utterly vanquish you. Therefore, Eggman, I shall respect your advice, and you shall have your own say in how our forces operate, especially your faction, but you don't have to agree with what Black Fist, the Commander, or I might say. If you do, you shall be executed, your mechs decommissioned and reprogrammed by Tails and our lead scientists. Do you understand, Doctor?"

Eggman gritted his teeth and his fists clenched, considering having his mechs shoot the other leaders while they least expected it and make a break for it. But, he knew he'd be killed, and there were other fools to step up and lead G.U.N. should the Commander and the President die, such as Admiral Atmos or General Catherine. And besides that, he felt they had a point, no matter how much he hated to admit it. So, half-hating himself for doing this, he nodded, and reached his hand out to shake the President's hand. The leader of the United Nations half-smirked, stood up, and shook his enemy's hand. Then they both returned the gesture to Black Fist.

"Now, Black Fist? We already agreed that half of your flying-fortresses would secure the cities and escort the ships for the evacuation while the other half joined Eggman's ships at the G.U.N fortress, along with 9,000 of our own ships. All other ships of ours are securing G.U.N. territory and preparing to escort the evacuation as well. Did you issue the orders, yet?"

"Yes, Mr. President" Black Fist replied formally. "Just yesterday, in fact. Our men have secured the fortress along with your troops, and everything is running smooth at the moment.

The President nodded, and faced Eggman. "Doctor? I must ask for another few ships to secure each city and town in our territory until we begin the evacuation. Do as you wish otherwise, but I must ask you to send several thousand mechs to the fortress as well." Eggman only nodded once in reply.

"Good" the President said with relief. "Eggman, Black Fist, leave at your own leisure; I believe that's all we need to address, unless there's something else?" Eggman already was headed out the door, but Black Fist lingered behind.

"Mr. President, I must ask that, as soon as you can, let me know of Shadow's and the other Mobians' status; they're our best chance against Mephiles and the Lost Ones..." here, Black Fist smiled a bit. "My officers and I have an idea of how to eliminate at least most of the Lost Ones; if we do that, than we'll stand that much of a better chance once we finally confront Mephiles' main army. If the Lost Ones manage to spearhead the assault..." Black Fist sighed, and his eyes darkened. "Then, honestly Mr. President, we'll stand half a chance if we're _lucky_" he added grimly.

The President nodded. "Very well, Black Fist. Thank you for your time" he said. As soon as Black Fist and his bodyguards left, the President breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God; that went better than I expected" the President said with relief. He faced the Commander, and stood up. "Commander; I assume you've already issued orders to have the civilians of all G.U.N. territory to evacuate?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. President" the Commander reported. "And, by our estimations, we should be able to house every single last man, woman, and child without cramming them all in; they'll have enough wiggle room to make it fairly comfortable. Also, with the food we've requested them to bring, the provisions we already have, and the fresh shipments we're sending in tomorrow, we can last years in that fortress; starving us behind walls won't be an option for Mephiles" he finished with a satisfied half-smile.

The President smiled, and patted the Commander on the shoulder. "Amazing how I can always count on you" he said with sincerity. "I have one last order for today, Commander; have our agents try and keep the evacuation hush-hush from the senate until they decide to move to the fortress; I may be the President, but the senate keeps me from being a dictator. If they found out about it, my position would be ruined. So, inform my Cabinet, if you please, on your way out Commander, of this matter."

"Certainly, Mr. President" the Commander said, saluted, and walked out of the President's room. He went down the hall, and into the Cabinet's room. He gave them the President's message, and walked out again. Once he was out of the section of the house directly connected to the President's room, he was rejoined by his two, floating Beetle-mech bodyguards. He returned salutes to junior officers and other people who worked in the building, when suddenly, his watch's built-in communicator went off. Answering it, the Commander heard Colonel Jackson's voice.

"_Commander! We just received word from Team Dark; they're still alive and in one piece, along with Knuckles, Silver, Blaze, and Tikal!"_ the officer from the G.U.N. Command Staff reported when the Commander was in his private transport. "_They encountered Mephiles; they were pretty brief about it, but they battled him in an ancient temple. I believe, sir, that they mentioned at least several of the Lost Ones being there as well._"

"Wait... you said, 'Team Dark, Knuckles, Silver, Blaze and Tikal'..." the Commander said with a frown. "What of Sonic and Amy Rose? They went to speak with the Mobians to see if they had an army willing to help us as well; what of them?"

"_They're staying in Mobius awhile to help them construct a teleportation device that will allow them to bring their whole army to Earth in a matter of minutes, sir_" Jackson replied. "_Shadow said that their leading general, a hedgehog named Commander Kael, would be able to bring them in roughly two to three weeks, which would be about three and a half days in Mobian time._"

"Very good, Colonel" the Commander replied. "An army of trained Mobian-warriors could very well turn the tide for us. "Colonel; as soon as Shadow and Rouge are rested, and any injuries they may have are at least fairly healed, tell them I want them at Headquarters in exactly thirty hours from the time you inform them. Is that clear?"

"_Yes sir, Commander. Jackson out_" the colonel replied, and the link closed.

*Night Babylon: one hour later: Shadow and Rouge's house*

Right now, Shadow and Rouge were taking turns holding Luna and letting her choose between playing with one of her toys, or crawl around and explore the living room. Shadow actually burst out laughing when Luna smiled toothlessly (save for one little point nub coming up from the bottom), and smashed his cup of soda onto the carpet, laughing and clapping her hands. Though Rouge was irritated at having to clean up _right after _they'd received some brief medical attention at G.U.N., a good night's rest and, feeling only slightly recovered (Shadow's wounds seemed almost completely gone, however), and then driving all the way back home to spend some more time with their daughter, she almost grinned when Shadow laughed; even though he had warmed up to her and behaved less hostile and cold-shouldered, hearing Shadow do more than chuckle was rare. When she'd finished cleaning up Luna's mess and setting her back on her husband's lap, Rouge plopped down beside Shadow and kissed her husband on the cheek.

"Seems like mayhem always picks the worst possible time to strike" Rouge said huffily, examining her prized engagement ring that Shadow had given her; the pure-diamond band still amazed her, even after being married a little over a year. The jewels on the band couldn't have been more valuable unless they were carved from the Chaos Emeralds themselves. Sighing, Rouge leaned her head against Shadow's shoulder, getting a better view of Luna

Shadow glanced back at his wife, smirked, and kissed her on the nose. "Well, life wouldn't make you much of person without hardships; surpassing them always makes you better for it, and offers you a perspective on which to better yourself, both in mind and soul" he said wisely. "So... I guess, what I'm trying to say, is that since it's hard for us to get to spend much time with Luna, it makes our time with her that much more precious. Am I making any sense?"

Rouge smirked, and took Luna into her own lap. The baby bat laughed and grabbed greedily at a throw pillow shaped like a fine gem. "Yes, Shadow, I get what you're saying" Rouge replied. "You said something pretty wise there, actually... you make that saying yourself, or, what?"

Shadow's smile vanished almost entirely, and his eyes seemed to be wandering. "Kaynyx told me something similar to that... shortly after he revealed that Mephiles manipulated and initiated the attack on the ARK... and that Mephiles... killed Maria..." he said distantly. Rouge's face grew worried, but when Luna hurled the pillow into Shadow's arm and laughed at her father's surprised expression, Shadow smiled again. He picked Luna up, and held her in the air, making her squeal. Then, Shadow brought Luna down, and kissed his daughter on the forehead.

So, the evening continued on a light note, and Luna finally fell asleep in Rouge's arms, dreamily gnawing at her mother's hand. Shadow took Luna to her cradle, tucked her in (after another epic battle against Luna's used diaper), and joined Rouge in their bedroom. The ivory bat changed into her night attire (after being teasingly kissed, licked, and pinched in certain areas by Shadow), and snuggled up cozily next to her lover. They exchanged a loving kiss, Rouge reached over to the lamp, turned it off, and fell asleep in each other's arms.

_Another dream..._

_Another... restless... dream..._

"_I... I've had this dream before... once? Twice?_

_It's... I know her! That girl there!_

_... Maria!"_

_The girl turned to face Shadow, and certainly enough, it was Maria Robotnik; they were home, aboard the Space Colony ARK! Maria smiled at the hedgehog and embraced him. Shadow, sorrow forgotten somehow, chuckled and returned the embrace. Sitting nearby was an elderly man with a large, white mustache: Gerald Robotnik. The elderly professor tried to smile along with his granddaughter, but sighed, a look of sadness and worry upon his face._

"_Oh grandpa, you let those silly people with their violent words and big guns worry you too much!" Maria said huffily, standing up and putting a hand on Gerald's shoulder. "They can threaten us all they want, but they'd have to make a big change in their peace laws to attack a colony of peaceful research just because some people are skittish!" _

"_Maria, my dear, this is getting worse every day!" Gerald said with an explosive sigh. "Governors and senators alike on the planet are trying to win votes to amend the laws so they can seize and confiscate our colony! Every day, they get a few more votes, and it's not just that one country trying to get permission to attack us!"_

_Shadow remembered this; this had happened just three days prior to the attack on the ARK. On the beautiful planet below, people were wanting to attack their peaceful home. Gerald had never explained why in too much detail, but Shadow knew a big reason was because _someone_ – most likely Mephiles _– _had leaked information on Shadow's destructive powers, along with the horrible accidents that had happened with Gerald's experiments._

_But Maria only smiled, and patted Gerald's shoulder. She went back over to Shadow, and hugged him, saying; "Don't worry. If anything happens, Shadow and I can take care of it." Her deep, blue eyes faced Shadow, Maria's face wearing a grin that made Shadow's eyes water in memories. "We'll help the people here on the ARK, right Shadow?"_

_Then, it all came crashing down..._

_The room Shadow now saw was sickeningly familiar; it was the room Maria had ejected him out of. The girl now lay on the floor in a pool of her own blood, her dress stained with it, her breathing irregular. Standing nearby Maria was a group of human soldiers, led by a dark human-shaped figure, roughly two feet taller than Maria. Its head may not have been shaped like a hedgehog, but Shadow still recognized the glimmering eyes..._

_It was Mephiles the Dark; this was what Kaynyx must've witnessed shortly before the wolf had been ejected. And, sure enough, Shadow spotted Kaynyx hiding nearby. The wolf was still a cub, but his augmentations were the only reason he looked that way; literally, Kaynyx was probably a teenager, and roughly ten years older than Shadow, who'd had an adult body for almost his entire life, having only been in cub form for a few hours before his growth was accelerated._

_Shadow saw Maria struggle to her knees, and suddenly, her eyes cleared of fear. Only anger, determination, and strong will was visible in her deep, blue eyes. Mephiles picked Maria up, and held her by the throat. She faced Mephiles, and glared at her killer with defiance._

"_Shadow will come back and stop you, you monster!" Maria cried defiantly. Mephiles scoffed, and at his command, Shadow saw the human soldiers prod Maria with electrical devices. She screamed in agony, but still, she would not tell them where Shadow was. _

"_Bah! Leave her to me!" Mephiles snarled. The other humans saluted, and left the room. Once they had, Mephiles reassumed his dark, familiar form, texture, and height. A blade appeared on his arm, and he approached Maria. Then, Kaynyx yelped a challenge, and threw himself at Mephiles' face, biting and clawing ravenously. But, with a great bellow of anger, Mephiles hurled the young wolf into a tube, sealed it shut, and prepared it to launch._

"_I have had enough with your insolence!" Mephiles cried, and brought his blade down, and slashed Maria's heart. At last, Maria Robotnik had died._

_Suddenly, the surrounding area of the ARK disappeared, and only Mephiles remained standing as he had. The dark creature laughed in triumph, and said; "Now, with her out of the way, Shadow's heart will forever be darkened by anger! Maria Robotnik has tainted her only hope of vengeance with evil! Now, her tainted hero shall be no match for me, and nothing shall stop me from setting the Flames of Disaster to the universe, and all of time and space!" And he laughed evilly._

_Then, that image vanished as well, and Shadow saw Earth on fire. Cities burned, and countless monster-spawns of Mephiles wreaked havoc and death upon all they saw. The Lost Ones flew overhead, setting fire to everything. Shadow saw himself, Rouge, Sonic, and a handful of other Mobians and G.U.N. soldiers trying to fight them off, but Shadow watched himself, Rouge, and the others blown up by a volley of flaming missiles from Hades, and the soldiers were devoured by the monsters. Then, the black flames spread, and Shadow saw Mephiles gripping the entire Earth in his hands, the Flames of Disaster were spreading to the stars. Mephiles cackled maniacally in his triumph as the universe burned and his victory was complete._

_But then, a cool breeze blew it all away, and Shadow saw himself standing in snow. There was no bitter wind; only cool, calm air that cleared his mind. It kissed his fevered fears and aching heart like Rouge's love. Shadow was on a mountain peak. Looking up, he saw..._

_Maria Robotnik._

_She was different though. Instead of her blue dress, she wore – strange as it may sound – silver armor! She looked older as well, but only four or five years older. Her eyes were still deep, kind, and loving, but also strong and resolved. A slim, silver falchion sword was strapped to her hip. Her long, golden hair shimmered as she smiled softly._

"_Maria!" Shadow cried, and threw his arms around her. Maria chuckled and returned the embrace. "Maria, is it really you this time? No illusion, no memory?"_

"_As real as can be, Shadow my friend" Maria replied, and nuzzled Shadow's forehead comfortingly. Then she stood up. Her smile remained, but her eyes grew a little less soft, more serious. "I came to tell you something important, Shadow; Mephiles is nearby. He has a base underground, somewhere north of Westopolis. You must move quickly, Shadow; he plans to reunite with Iblis while the Lost Ones lead his armies to occupy you so you cannot peruse him. If you strike quickly, with a small force, you may be able to draw him out. If you succeed, Mephiles will be forced to stay here, and you will have a chance to defeat him once and for all. I promise, Shadow; Mephiles' end is closer than you might think."_

"_Truly, Maria?" Shadow replied. "But... what is he planning? When will his army strike? Um... why are you wearing armor and carrying a sword?"_

_Maria chuckled. "Honestly, Shadow, I can't answer your first question" she admitted, and put a hand on Shadow's shoulder to reassure him. "But it does have something to do with the Sword of Chaos, I'm almost certain. As to your second question, his army will assault G.U.N. and its allies within three days. If you strike tomorrow, a little after noon, you will catch him before his plans are set in motion, and with his guard down. His attack will be delayed for a long time as he tries to regroup and compensate for his losses. And your third question..." Maria's eyes grew serious again, "I am preparing... should Mephiles become Solaris again, he will be able to reach beyond the realm of physical embodiment. I must be ready, even here."_

_Shadow nodded, and put a fist over his heart. "I promise you, Maria," he said, "That I shall not let Mephiles get to you! I'll heed your advice; we'll stop him and his armies!"_

_Maria smiled, and embraced her friend who had been like a brother to her. "I know you will, Shadow" she said gently..._

Shadow awoke with a start, and found himself a little sweaty. But his mind was calm, sharp, and awake.

Not even Rouge's nearby form made him sleepy.

Shadow gently shook Rouge awake. With a grumble, the ivory bat's eyes opened. She yawned and glared over at her husband.

"Please don't tell me G.U.N. is calling us for a mission" she grumbled.

"No... we're calling them for a mission of _mine _this time" Shadow said defiantly, and stood up. "Call a babysitter; I need to get a hold of Sonic and Amy."

"Uh... are you on crack?" Rouge asked with a raised eyebrow, scrambling out of bed. "Sonic and Amy are still on Mobius!"

"Then tell G.U.N. to get them here" Shadow said gently, but with some force. "I hate myself for saying this, but we need them; it's time to stop Mephiles."


	14. Darkness

**Chapter Thirteen: Darkness**

*Mephiles' underground Base: three hours after Shadow awoke: Mephiles' throne room*

Mephiles was leaving Earth, never to return to it.

The dark being's next plot for reuniting with Iblis was at hand; in roughly two hours, he would be leaving Earth, and tearing himself an entrance to a dimension where Iblis still existed. Between what Mauve had stolen from Dr. Eggman, Dr. Ovator's research, and the Sword of Chaos, Mephiles was only a heartbeat away from total victory.

At this particular moment, in his throne room, he was going over some blueprints of the large, powerful machine Ovator had built for Mephiles' plan, making sure it fit his requirements. As usual, his throne was lit by two torches of black fire (which only seemed to make the room darker), the throne chair itself constructed of black marble and the arm rests detailed with Mephiles' form-fitting ooze-material, and the outside door was made of triple-layered titanium, and guarded by three cloaked Black Arms Greats, two Black Arms elites (all of whom remained loyal to Mephiles and were unaware of the rest of the Black Arms' return to Earth), and the last, significantly-powerful Metarex. The Lost Ones, meanwhile, were flying around, giving G.U.N. vague sightings and making them think that Mephiles and the Lost Ones still ran free, so as to mislead them. Hades was organizing the army to seize an area to make a formidable holding ground, and then attack G.U.N. to prevent them from interfering in even the slightest. Mephiles felt safe, and as the base was both heavily guarded and remained hidden from G.U.N., the evil creature was certain that not even Shadow could foil his plans this time. He would be taking the journey alone save for Ovator and Shade; Ovator was the only one who knew how to control the device Mephiles needed for his plan, and Shade, because he thought it would be amusing to see the echidna's reaction when Shade realized that his master's plan included his destruction. Oh yes, the echidna had been unwavering in his loyalty to Mephiles, but he cared little; the loyalty was born of ignorance and manipulation, nothing more.

As if on cue, Shade the Echidna entered the room, and bowed before his master. Mephiles turned to face him, and nodded. "Rise, my faithful servant" Mephiles said, lifting his hand. "What news do you bring me, my friend?"

Shade's glowing red eyes met his master's green eyes. "Dr. Ovator reports that all final systems are at one-hundred percent" the echidna reported. "The Sword of Chaos has fit into the core, and is cooperating with our Chaos-drive generators. The transport is nearly ready."

Mephiles chuckled. "Thank you for telling me that, Shade" he said, and put down the blueprint he had been reading. The dark being clasped his hands together in wicked glee. "After so long... centuries upon centuries, battle after battle, deception after deception... Iblis and I shall rejoin, and our power shall grow unlimited!" he exclaimed. "And you, Shade the Echidna, shall be at my side when the entire universe is in the palm of my hand! All of those who have served me loyally, the Black Arms, everyone, shall be rewarded beyond comprehension! And my enemies..." Mephiles chuckled darkly, "My enemies shall be grinded into dust, and scraped as excrement from my feet! At last, glorious victory is at hand!"

Shade tried to smile and share his master's happiness, but still felt uneasy... "Master, what will happen once you and Iblis seize total victory, and our enemies are gone?" he asked with a hint of hopeful innocence. "Will... I finally find peace? Will I finally defy Gerald's wishes to slave me to his whim? Will I finally know... who I am?"

Mephiles turned to face Shade, and put a hand on the echidna's shoulder (which felt uncomfortably cold, but Shade didn't seem to heed it). "Shade, my friend, everything shall become clear then, I promise you" he said. "I am proud of your loyalty, and you have been a formidable weapon and ally against those who would stand against me. Trust me, Shade, once our crusade is over, you shall find peace and truth. Now, if you please; tend to my security. I can't have anything go wrong; not when we're so close."

Half-smiling, Shade bowed again. "Yes, my Lord Mephiles" he said formally, and left the room.

*Above ground: With Shadow and Rouge: Three miles north of Westopolis Border*

The team was now equipped with high-tech x-ray binoculars, and could see the entrance that led to Mephiles' base. The area was grassy outside the city, and the entrance was hidden under a short crevice in the side of a hill. It was guarded by a cloaked soldier (they could tell with a heat-vision setting on the binoculars), and was well-hidden, but they were more than confident they could get to it. After double-checking everything, Rouge confirmed that the guard, the hidden entrance, and one small auto-gun turret were guarding the entrance.

Shadow and Rouge were taking Mephiles down. Four platoons of G.U.N. soldiers, (supported by a team of agents), five platoons of Eggman's mechs (led by Eggman himself in his infamous Egg Walker Mark II), Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were helping them. Getting back from Mobius was hasty, but it confirmed that the Mobians' teleportation device worked. All it needed was a bit of tuning to send masses of people at a time, and a little more time for Kael to assemble his army before the entire Mobian force would stand with G.U.N. and the others against Mephiles.

"Alright; Sonic and Amy are approaching the entrance" Rouge told Shadow. "We need to distract the guard..."

"Rouge... maybe we shouldn't do this..." Shadow said uncertainly. "I mean, yeah, Mephiles is most likely down there, but who knows who's guarding him? It could be the Lost Ones, or maybe he has that doctor building him advanced versions of the Havocs, or something..."

"Shadow, c'mon; you're the one who dragged me out of bed to do this!" Rouge said. "Besides, have I ever quit on you? I'm not going to let you quit on yourself!"

"That doesn't change the fact that we're all in a dangerous situation" Shadow replied, his eyes sharp as he gazed at Rouge. "I dragged you and the others here because of a _dream, _Rouge!"

"Shadow, if there's anybody I know who has dreams that mean something more than random nonsense, it's you" Rouge shot back, putting a fist on her hip and looking sternly at the ebony hedgehog. "If Mephiles is going to do something because a dream you had said he would, I'll believe it. And we'll stop Mephiles, just like we always do. Maybe for good, this time."

Shadow nodded with a smile, and turned his attention back to the gate. Rouge was right; they needed a distraction. "Throw one of your bombs off in the distance; that'll probably draw him out." Rouge complied, and heaved a bomb of hers with all her strength into the distance. It went off, and they waited awhile... carefully watching the guard their binoculars. They waited... and waited... and for a change of pace, they waited some more.

Finally, the guard stepped out of the hidden post, and walked forward for a closer look.

"Excellent!" Shadow said, and Chaos-Controlled him and Rouge to the entrance. Quiet as a mute, hovering mouse in a library, Rouge pulled out a pair of wire-cutters, and disabled the gun turret before it could sight them.

"Sonic! Amy! Hurry in, now!" Shadow hissed into his communicator. Soon enough, Shadow spotted a blue and a pink blur approaching, and they smashed right into the cloaked Black Arms Great, knocking the huge alien unconscious and disabling his cloaking device. Sonic and Amy walked towards them, and Sonic gave Amy a thumbs-up.

"You're getting faster there, Amy!" Sonic said, and winked. Amy giggled a little and winked back, making Shadow roll his eyes. "Rouge; get the door open before someone notices the guard isn't reporting!" the ebony hedgehog said hastily. The bat nodded, and went to work at unlocking the door.

While Rouge worked on the door, Shadow went over the plan in his head again: The four of them were going to infiltrate Mephiles' fortress directly, split up once inside, and track down Mephiles' throne room without being spotted. Sonic and Amy would try and isolate the guards and cause a distraction both big enough to draw the guards' attention, but small enough so Mephiles wouldn't be concerned. Tails and Knuckles, meanwhile, were traveling through an abandoned tunnel that led to a huge shaft under Mephiles' hideout. Once they were there, Tails and Knuckles would get to a terminal Tails had found using G.U.N.'s mainframe. Using that terminal, Tails would be able to let Dr. Eggman and G.U.N. into the fortress, and then they'd be able to match the guards' firepower... more or less. Then, Mephiles' chance of escape would be zilch.

"Got it! Let's go!" Rouge exclaimed, and they followed her inside.

*Mauve the Bat's room: Mephiles' base*

The sinister bat was, at this time, leaning in the back of a chair in the room Shade had (grudgingly) provided for him, smoking a cigar. Nearby lay his leather jacket full of his deadly arsenal of weapons. His room also had a large, seventy-inch, wide/flat/plasma-screen television on it, where a Ps2, a Ps3, an Xbox 360, a Nintendo Wii, and even a Sega Dreamcaster were all plugged in, with at least ten games for each console. Bored, Mauve yawned and expertly flicked his cigar into the ash tray, and let it smolder.

"I need some new video games..." Mauve muttered. "Maybe Mephiles will let me go to the _Poison _and pick up some slut... yeah! I can get some games on the way back!" Thus grinning, the wicked bat picked up his jacket, and slung it on. He was about to leave, when his television made a beeping sound. Inspecting closely, Mauve saw something that made him smirk: it was Dr. Eggman's logo.

Mauve hit a button, made sure the door was locked, and Eggman's image appeared on the screen. Mauve could see several mechs standing near the doctor in a protective manner. The bat grinned to himself, forgetting his plan for the day.

"Good afternoon, Robotnik" Mauve said formally. "I take it you're near Mephiles' fortress?"

"Yes, and I have a favor to ask" Eggman replied. "Tails is going to try and hack in and distract Mephiles. Now, I need you to give him easier access, and we need to create an entrance for me and G.U.N. Here's what I plan for you to do..."

*With Tails and Knuckles*

The young fox and the echidna were eerily alone in this long, dark, abandoned tunnel that led under Mephiles' fortress. The only light they had was a flashlight that Tails held, dimly shining their way. Luckily, they'd been at a jogging pace the entire time (flying in Tails' case), and were fairly close to the end of the tunnel. Knuckles stopped for a moment to catch his breath and let Tails rest his... er, tails (*shrugs*). Suddenly, Tails' communicator went off with Sonic's voice.

"_Hey, Tails! Knuckles, how's it going_?" Sonic asked_. "Amy, Shadow, Rouge and I are inside; we just now split up. So far, all they know is that there was a disturbance at the front door, nothin' else! How're you guys doing?_"

"We're fine, Sonic" Knuckles replied, stretching his arms and stamping his feet to get it circulated again. The echidna smirked, and replied; "We're almost at the end. It was a long walk, but we just need to climb up one more hatch, and we're there! Mephiles will be toast before dinner!"

"_Awesome Knux!" _Sonic replied enthusiastically. "_Okay... hold out awhile longer, and we'll meet you in an hour or so, okay guys?_"

"Will do, Sonic!" Tails replied with a smile. "Be careful you two! Tails and Knuckles out!" With that, Knuckles stood up again, and began walking. This time, Tails joined him on walking. As they continued, Tails' light eventually showed an old, fairly-rusted sewer-ladder that led to a manhole above.

"Great... we've run over five miles to discover... ah... *AHCHOO!*" Knuckles sneezed suddenly, almost making Tails drop his flashlight. Knuckles sniffled, and continued; "To discover we're in an abandoned, and apparently _dusty _sewer! Ah, being a hero isn't glamorous, I guess" Knuckles admitted with a sigh. Tails just shrugged.

"At least the coast is clear" the genius fox pointed out, and headed for the ladder.

Had Tails and Knuckles been paying attention to a ledge near the ceiling, they may have noticed two, large, Black Aliens watching them, and then suddenly vanish. But they didn't, and continued to walk towards the ladder.

But then, Knuckles suddenly felt a powerful fist slam into his chest, and then punch him against his jaw, making the echidna snarl in pain. Tails turned around to see what was happening, but was grabbed by an invisible hand, slammed into the ladder he had been about to climb, and then hurled to the ground. Knuckles barely had time to notice Tails had a similar problem to his before being punched again.

"Augh! Black Arms Greats; it must be!" Tails said, and frantically reached for his electronic-pulse-firing gun (like he had on _Sonic Battle_), and fired, but it missed, and the young fox received only a kick to the head for his attempt.

Knuckles, however, was becoming irritated, and with a ferocious bellow, he leapt forward, and amazingly managed to tackle one of his assailants. He then picked up the creature, and punched it in the chest, killing it and simultaneously destroying its cloaking device, revealing its body. The crimson echidna then picked it up by its legs, and began to swing it around in preparation for a hammer-throw, not realizing his foe was dead. Quite accidentally, Knuckles hit Tails' attacker as well, stunning the other alien's cloaking device revealing it just long enough for Tails to act. The fox picked up his gun and fired, destroying the device and blasting the alien against the wall, breaking bones and knocking it unconscious. Finally, Tails put away his gun, and faced his echidna friend.

"Excellent of you to come along with me" Tails said with a thumbs-up. Knuckles smirked and patted Tails on the back in reply. "No problem. Now, let's head topside." So they climbed up the ladder, Knuckles leading the way, and the echidna pushed the manhole out of the way. He helped Tails up... and what they saw next took their breath away.

Tails opened up a link to Shadow, Sonic, and even Eggman, and said; "Um, guys? You know that thing Shadow said Mephiles was planning?" he said, still not quite believing what he saw. "I... I think I just found it."

Tails and Knuckles found themselves in one, large hangar. Before them stood a massive, jet-black starship.

Mephiles was planning to use the Sword of Chaos to power the ship, and using Eggman's Chaos-Warp generators, they would leave this dimension and enter one where Iblis still existed.

*With Shadow and Rouge*

The two agents were now scaling their way through a narrow corridor inside Mephiles' estate. Rouge was making use of her ability to climb walls while Shadow silently used his "Triangle-Jump" maneuver to stay where he was, and used a spiked version of brass-knuckles to stick to the wall longer. However, that almost failed, and their position given away when Shadow's hand slipped, having heard Tails' amazing news. When he recovered, Rouge and he continued.

"Mephiles has a starship?!" Shadow hissed, still amazed at the prospect. If not for the fact Mephiles had stolen the Sword of Chaos, Shadow wouldn't have any clue what Mephiles intended for this ship, but he could guess; using technology like Eggman's Chaos Generators, Mephiles could very well use the Havoc Blade to reunite with Iblis. Apparently, Rouge agreed; "Well, that's one bus ride that's doomed to a fucking up" she replied. "Plane-ride, ship-ride, whatever."

"Well, we're canceling his ride" Shadow declared, almost reminding Rouge of Sonic with this arrogant statement. Shadow contacted Sonic and Amy, asking; "What's your status?"

"_So far so good, Shad_" Sonic replied. "_We managed to lure one patrol guy away from his group, knock him unconscious, and hide him before his group would notice us._"

"Excellent" Shadow replied. "I'd guess we're at least fairly closer to Mephiles by now; we've gotten past three areas that have fairly high security, and you should know as well as I, it isn't easy; this place is crawling with guards."

"_I hear ya_" Sonic agreed, but his confidence hadn't seemed diminished because of that. "_How's Tails doing_?"

"Your guess is as good as mine; I'll contact him now" Shadow answered, and opened up a link to Tails and Knuckles. "Tails? Are you inside the mainframe yet?"

"_Just a moment.._." Tails replied, his voice sounding firm with concentration. "_I'm in! Quite easier than I expected, really. Alright Shadow, I'm uploading the location of Mephiles' throne room to you and Sonic right now._" Shadow saw data roll across his communicator, and sure enough, he now had a mini-map leading to the dark being's location.

"Excellent, Tails" Shadow replied. "Try and let Eggman and G.U.N. inside. Then, when I give the signal, initiate a lockdown so nobody can come to Mephiles' rescue, okay? Then, see if you can try and rendezvous with Eggman and G.U.N., and coordinate an attack against Mephiles' guards, particularly Mauve and Shade. Okay?"

"_Will do Shadow_" Tails replied. "_You guys be careful. Tails and Knuckles out._"

*With Dr. Eggman; near sealed-off entrance to Mephiles' base*

Right now, Eggman was near-furious, as he glared down at the 1/6th-sized hologram of Mauve as he said; "This is _unacceptable_! Absolutely unacceptable!" Eggman snarled. "Why didn't you tell me that Mephiles was planning to leave with a starship? And on top of that, why didn't you also mention that he was able to build it with _my _discovery of Chaos-Warp technology using information _you _stole?!"

Mauve's image only shrugged. "_You didn't ask, doc_" he replied, and his image lit another cigar and began smoking it. Eggman's eye twitched at the bat's smart remark and he slammed his fist down on the Egg Walker Mark II's controls, making Mauve's image waver a moment. "Do _not _be sarcastic with me, Mauve! That's not a very efficient way to keep a mutually-beneficial partnership with me!" Eggman said quietly, but still steaming.

Mauve just sighed and casually waved his hand as if to dismiss the matter (which he was). "_Details, doctor, details_" he said, inhaled deeply, and blew out a puff of smoke. "_This was prior to our deal. I'll keep my end of the bargain so long as you keep yours. Now, I've already taken down about eighteen of the more complex firewalls and codes so the fox-boy could access Mephiles' mainframe more easily. He'll have an entrance ready for you within minutes. And he will also be locking down the complex so that Mephiles can't be helped, but you can also get through the fortress yourself. Your mechs and you will probably not encounter more than five guards altogether. Not only that, but I've transmitted codes you will find useful should..._" Mauve smirked slyly, and he added; "_Mephiles launch his ship too soon. It will make his escape... hindered._"

Eggman nodded, calming down a bit now. "Good Mauve. And as I promised you, I shall let you have a position of power in my empire, and allow you into my protection" he replied. Mauve was about to respond, but suddenly looked at something off-screen, and said; "_Must go. Bye_" and his image vanished.

*Mauve's room*

Shade the Echidna and Dr. Ovator had intruded on Mauve's conversation. Dr. Ovator was scanning over a datapad, likely filled with data on the ship he had designed for Mephiles. Mauve felt a quick pang of queasiness, seeing that one of Ovator's eyes was a mechanical replacement. He might not have been able to tell, the eye looked so real, save for the fact that the middle of the pupil blipped with a red light to show its activity, and the jagged scars around it, showing where Mephiles had slashed it out. The memory of Ovator's scream still haunted Mauve, and the bat had seen terrible things in his life (including his father's and his own actions). But what concerned the hunter-bat most now was what Shade had heard before entering so rudely. Guessing by the fact Shade hadn't drawn his claws yet, Mauve thought he was safe. The echidna still glared at the bat, however, and seemed to be angry about something.

"Mauve! Dr. Ovator says he has detected a security breach in the mainframe" Shade snarled at the bat. "A few guards were also found unconscious. Now, you may just be a merc, but since Mephiles is housing you here, you're obliged to take part in our security. Ovator and his technicians are trying to trace the source of the hacker, but I must ask you to at the very least keep your ears open, and keep your blasted television off so it won't leech our security's power."

Mauve nodded and sighed. "Yes, Shade, I was going to get a drink anyway" he said dully. "I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and check with security and get back to you."

"Shade?" Ovator spoke up, looking at the datapad. "There's something... moving through the mainframe now, like a command, or... something."

"Well, find out, damn you!" Shade snarled harshly. "Lord Mephiles cannot have anything go wrong, not when he's this close!" Ovator scrambled back to the hangar so he could man the ship's safety personally, not exactly fond of the idea of having two fake eyes.

*With Tails and Knuckles*

There had been two Black Arms elites and a group of five standard Metarex guarding the hangar, but Knuckles had taken care of them, Tails only having to shoot the Elites and knock them dizzy while Knuckles took care of the Metarex and then finished the aliens. Now, standing a careful watch so Tails could concentrate, the echidna's want to fight evil had been sated for the moment. The young fox, meanwhile, was working furiously. It was easier than expected, but one accident could very well jeopardize their mission. Finally, however, he hit the code that unlocked both of the entrances where G.U.N. and Eggman were stationed on opposite sides of Mephiles' base. Then, smiling, Tails did something much simpler;

He activated the lockdown sequence, leaving only a few doors open for G.U.N. and Eggman to pass through.

"Shadow, Sonic? Knuckles and I are done here" Tail reported over the communicator. "We're heading up, copy?"

"_Roger, buddy! Shadow and I got Mephiles pinned in his room; he's got no chance of escaping!_" Sonic answered.

"_Affirmative; head upwards, and stand by this door that's on the east wall; it's a secret path out of Mephiles' throne_" Shadow told them. "_Eggman and G.U.N. will probably meet there as well. If Mephiles slips past, hold him._"

*With Shade: corridor adjoining Mephiles' throne and security control room*

The echidna had been about to see how the technicians were doing at discovering the night's dilemma, when suddenly, a blaring siren went off, making the echidna jump and reveal his claws in alarm. He looked up to see a right light blaring along with the siren, and suddenly, doors all around him began to slam shut, reinforced with four inches of titanium and a thin layer of energy shielding about half a centimeter thick.

"What- who- damn it!" Shade snarled, and slashed at the door leading to the security room. "Who the hell ordered a lockdown?!" he demanded.

*Mephiles' throne room; ten seconds prior to lockdown*

At this time, Mephiles had been meditating on his throne, relishing in the darkness of his room, and of his own thoughts. But suddenly, the black torches were knocked over, one of them setting fire to the blueprints, and the other just getting plain extinguished, which made the room seem slightly brighter. Standing up immediately, Mephiles saw two very, very unwelcome guests standing about eleven feet away from him:

Sonic the Hedgehog and Amy Rose, who hefted her Piko-Piko hammer into a swing-ready stance.

"Planning a little trip, bud?" Amy said, glaring at the dark being, who was genuinely surprised both by the fact that he had been caught totally unaware, and the fact that he was surprised.

"A little troublesome flying adventure on the moon, maybe?" Sonic added, and got into a battle-ready stance. Mephiles snarled at them, but his dilemma only grew worse...

Shadow and Rouge had arrived through a ventilation shaft at his back.

"You're not getting out of here, shit-licker" Rouge growled, narrowed her eyes into a glare, and readied a bomb to throw at Mephiles. Shadow drew his dagger, and the ebony hedgehog's mouth flickered with the ghost of smile, seeing that Mephiles didn't even have the Sword of Chaos to help him this time.

"Your darkness, your evil, your life, and your deception ends here and now, Mephiles!" Shadow said, and fired a Chaos Spear at his nemesis. Mephiles easily side-stepped it, and instead, the energy shattered his throne. The dark being then summoned ooze to his arm to form a blade, and glared at his hated enemy.

"You shall all _die_, you miserable-" Mephiles began to say, but Amy jumped him from behind and struck him with her hammer the exact same time Sonic hit him with a Homing Attack. Shadow's nemesis rolled with the blows, and stood up just in time to block an attack from his said enemy. But Shadow's hatred allowed him to kick Mephiles back, and slash the dark being with his dagger. Then, Rouge heaved a bomb at Mephiles, which the dark being barely dodged and still received a glancing blow. Sonic and Amy rejoined the fight, and Mephiles found himself in a messy dilemma, to say an understatement.

"You are alone now, Mephiles!" Shadow said, holding his dagger at the ready. "And this time, you're outmatched. Your end has come!"

*Mephiles' hangar, with Dr. Ovator: Onboard Mephiles' starship.

At this moment, Dr. Ovator was seated on the bridge of Mephiles' ship, making sure all systems were good to go, and that the starship was safe from outside hackers. Everything was fine at the moment, but the nervous doctor still wished for two things; that he had some guards with him, and that he had never signed on with Mephiles in the first place. Mephiles had been planning only on taking himself, Ovator and Shade on the trip, but Ovator had convinced his master to allow two Black Arms to act as Ovator's bodyguards since Shade was Mephiles'. Humming a tune to calm his mind, and hoping the cause of the fluxes in the mainframe were nothing of much concern, he heard an explosion.

Ovator viewed a camera-screen, and to his horror, he saw Dr. Eggman and dozens of mechs blow through a wall in the area where Ovator had his security devices built. The room wasn't far from the hangar, and only about ten Metarex and three Black Aliens armed with swords stood against them. Then, Dr. Eggman took aim at another wall, and now the starship was in Eggman's sight.

The doctor was now aiming for it.

"My God!" Ovator exclaimed, and rapidly hit a series of buttons to link himself to Mephiles' room. "The master must be alerted!"

*Mephiles' throne room*

At this point, Mephiles' body was showing signs of damage; deep slashes could be seen on him, and Sonic and Amy's smashing had cracked some areas. But still, the dark being's stamina was practically limitless, and he fought on. He continued to parry Shadow's dagger and Amy's hammer with the blades on his hands, but his foes still managed to land some hits. Mephiles' powers of fire, energy, speed, and inhuman strength, combined with Rouge's bombs, Shadow's Chaos Powers, and everyone being tossed by their opponent, the room was a mess. To make things worse, Mephiles received Ovator's transmission via a communicator that had been built-into Mephiles' throne chair.

"_My lord, something bad has occurred!_" Ovator was exclaiming. "_Dr. Eggman has infiltrated the hangar, and has disposed of most of your guards! And now he is targeting your vessel!_"

Mephiles parried Shadow's next blow, and knocked it aside, just then comprehending what Ovator had said. "Eggman is here? Attacking my ship?!" he replied sharply. But Shadow leapt forward, and slashed Mephiles deep across the chest, and met with one of Rouge's bombs while he stumbled, knocking him to the ground. The dark being snarled in frustration, and cried; "That changes EVERYTHING!" And with a bellow, Mephiles sent Sonic and Amy smashing into the wall with a surge of energy, parried Shadow's attack, kicked the ebony hedgehog away, and slashed Rouge across the leg, and sent her flying into the wall next to Sonic. But then, Shadow leapt high into the air, and brought his dagger down towards Mephiles, who barely managed to catch it between his two blades. Thinking quickly, Mephiles twisted his body, and kicked Shadow in the head, sending him crashing into a statue Mephiles had carved of Solaris. Still, Shadow would not be denied, and he lunged himself at Mephiles again, and this time, the ebony hedgehog decided to kick it up another notch; he summoned Chaos Energy to his dagger, Dark Burner.

Mephiles felt a chill of horror when he saw the golden blade burst into flame and form itself into a long blade of pure amber/scarlet energy. Mephiles tried to parry the blow, but Dark Burner sliced through the ooze-blade like it was butter, and the hedgehog landed a glancing blow to Mephiles' torso, close to where the ribcage would be. The dark being howled in agony, but managed to summon his long, barbed ooze-whip, and lashed Shadow across the torso, wrapped it around his leg, and pulled Shadow into a bookcase, making it topple over and crash on the Ultimate Life Form.

Sonic, Rouge, and Amy were just getting up to reengage Mephiles, when the main door shuddered with a blow. Everyone turned to look, and after a few more thuds, the door crashed down. Shade the Echidna then rushed into the room, his claws drawn, and was followed by well over two hundred Black Arms of every kind, and Metarex, including the ones who had been guarding the door, but had been unable to get in because of the lockdown. Shade snarled once he spotted Shadow and the other Mobians.

"Protect Master Mephiles!" Shade cried, and the soldiers who joined him rushed forward to attack their enemies. Amy rushed forward to meet them first while Mephiles pushed himself back onto his feet.

"Shade! Hold the Mobians!" Mephiles called. "I must get to my ship!" And he ran towards the hidden exit at the back of the room. Sonic turned to see him first, and his eyes widened.

"He's making a break for it!" the blue hedgehog called. Shadow heard him, and stood up, picking his dagger back up. "Get him!" Shadow cried, and he and Sonic ran towards Mephiles, but two Black Arms elites and the Metarex charged with guarding Mephiles' room (who was about six ft. 7 in. with two sleek, slim scimitars in each hand, and electrical power coursing through him), and used their blades to bar Shadow and Sonic's pursuit.

Mephiles, meanwhile, was already in the elevator leading downwards to the hangar. On the wall, there was a radio system, which he immediately linked to Ovator, and yelled; "Doctor, this is your master! We have not a moment to waste; prepare the ship for launch immediately!"

"_But, master, nothing is ready to go!_" Ovator replied nervously. "_Eggman is battling through the hangar guards, and preparing for launch will take-_" But Mephiles interrupted him with a vicious snarl.

"I _know _you imbecile!" Mephiles growled. "But it isn't about to improve any time soon, so prepare for launch, and summon all guards – available or no – to the hangar, _now_!" The communicator was silent for a moment, and he finally heard Ovator reply, "_Yes, master. Preparing for launch now._"

Finally, the elevator reached the hangar, and Mephiles charged in, expecting to be shot at by Eggman's forces. But, he neither felt nor heard any blaster-fire... instead, he saw Knuckles the Echidna slaughtering dozens of Metarex guards.

"What in hell's fire?!" Mephiles cursed, but suddenly saw Miles Prower leap at him, and three electric dummy-rings crackled upon hitting Mephiles' body. The said evil being cursed harshly, and Tails aimed his gun at the demonic fiend.

"Thought you might try the emergency exit!" Tails exclaimed, and when Mephiles tried to make a break past the young fox, Tails flew up and slammed into him, and kept his gun trained on the dark being. Mephiles thought this laughable; if Shadow needed backup to defeat him, then this fox – intellect irrelevant – didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell of defeating him, no pun intended on the "hell" bit. Eventually, however, Knuckles finished his opponents, and Tails' chances looked a little better... but Mephiles had battled worse odds than this and survived, and Knuckles was likely at least a little tired from his fighting. So Mephiles only laughed and reformed the blades Shadow had severed.

*Mephiles' throne room*

Shadow was combating the lead Metarex at the moment, which had electrical fields around his swords which prevented Shadow's fiery blade from cutting through it. Rouge was battling Shade the Echidna, and Sonic and Amy took out the guards together. Finally, however, Rouge managed to make a fake move to attack Shade's left side, and when the echidna turned in position to block it, Rouge quickly spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick, sending Shade crashing into the wall. Then, the ivory bat hurled a bomb at the elevator, blowing it open. She ran towards it, halting momentarily to give Sonic and Amy a quick hand so they could get to the elevator as well. When they reached it, Sonic and Amy went down first, Rouge lingering to see how Shadow was doing.

Shade, however, had stood up again and was glaring at the gaping elevator-entrance, and he yelled to the remaining guards, "After them! Do not let them harm Mephiles!" And about sixty Black Aliens and Metarex ran for the door, Shade lingering behind only a moment. Rouge, seeing the guards charge her, decided to lure them down so they wouldn't hinder her husband, and jumped down the chute. Shadow growled to himself, seeing that the team had broken off, and with a burst of red energy, he unleashed a Chaos Blast, and sent the powerful Metarex he was dueling flying into the wall. Then, Shadow fired an extra-powerful Chaos Lance from the tip of Dark Burner's blade, and it pierced right through the body. The ebony hedgehog ran after the others towards the makeshift exit, but Shade had stayed behind, not ready to fight, but with a pleading look in his eyes.

"Shadow, please, you do not have to do this" Shade told his hedgehog counterpart. "Mephiles is leaving this planet to achieve his goal, and neither of you will be able to trouble the other! Please, for your own sake, do not follow him!" Shade added a faint hint of threat in the latter sentence, but still didn't make a hostile move.

"Shade, if you think your master will let me and my allies alone, you are a fool!" Shadow snarled, but let the fire on Dark Burner extinguish to show he meant no harm as long as Shade didn't. "Once he reunites with Iblis, life and order as we know it shall be twisted into eternal havoc and nightmares!"

"No, Shadow, he only wishes to be one, powerful being again so he can cleanse life of its impurities" Shade replied coolly. "The humans, who are ruled by greed and improvidence, will be made anew into great, honorable beings. Gerald, when he created me after you, wished to use me as a weapon for humanity, much as he did to you!" This, Shade added with disgust. "But Shadow, you are worthy of honor! Turn away from this path of servitude!"

"I do _not _serve the humans on their whim!" Shadow snarled with venom, almost making Shade draw his claws in preparation for a fight. "Everything Mephiles has told you is a lie! I would know! He has taken everything that is dear to me away for his own selfish wishes, and now, I shall stop him!" And having said that, Shadow jumped down after the others.

*With Tails and Knuckles; near hangar docks, facing Mephiles: one minute ago*

"Your flight has been cancelled!" Knuckles said challengingly, and stepped forward with his fists ready to start throwing punches. Mephiles only chuckled, and simultaneously sent Knuckles flying into a computer panel, and fired an explosive blade-missile at Tails, sending the fox soaring with a cry of pain and surprise. They quickly stood up again, but Mephiles rushed over to Tails, and held a blade at the fox's throat.

"You cannot stop me!" he growled, but suddenly, a blue, shapeless mass hit Mephiles with impossible speed, knocking the dark demon onto his backside. Standing back up, Mephiles saw himself pinned between two groups: Sonic, Amy, and Rouge were at his back, with Tails and Knuckles still up front. And, to make things worse, Mephiles saw Dr. Eggman and more than sixty of his robots come from his left. The ingenious doctor chuckled, finally seeing a chance for revenge before him.

To Mephiles' relief, however, dozens of guards followed right after Sonic, Amy and Rouge, their weapons all trained on the Mobians and Eggman's force. Shade and Shadow followed soon after, joining their groups. Over a hundred more Metarex and Black Arms arrived from Mephiles' left, and joined with the other guards.

"Step away from Mephiles, NOW!" Shade bellowed, and unsheathed his claws.

"Why don't you make us, pea-brain?" Sonic challenged. Then, however, an explosion went off from the direction Mephiles' reinforcements had arrived from, and the Mobians saw a welcome sight:

G.U.N.'s forces had come, with about seven agents leading the tough troops.

"Well-met, Shadow!" the lead agent called, holding a lock-on laser rifle. "Troops, fire upon Mephiles' guards, try not to harm Shadow, Sonic or those Mobians!" he added. And with that, the entire G.U.N. force opened up their torrent of guns, covering four of the agents who were armed with melee weapons as they charged in. Eggman's forces opened fire as well, but he was less picky on where they aimed, forcing Shadow, Sonic, Amy, Rouge, Knuckles, and Tails to dodge their fire from time to time. From his Egg Walker Mark II, it carried improved accuracy, mobility, and faster reload/recharge times, and he fired a burst of flame that set six Metarex ablaze. Howling in their metallic speech, they went careening out of control, some falling down the chute that held Mephiles' starship, the others being caught in the cross-fire. Mephiles simply made a break for it, running towards his starship. Shade bellowed at several of the guards to try and follow his master, but they had to move slowly or risk being shot.

Shadow however, Chaos-Controlled directly in front of his nemesis, his dagger drawn, but not ignited. Mephiles hissed and reformed his blades in reply. Shadow finally spoke up, saying; "Mephiles, I cannot – I _shall _not – allow you to leave this dimension! You will wreak havoc on all you come across, reunite with Iblis, and hurl the universe into chaos, murdering all of life and peace... just like you did Maria Robotnik!"

"What?! How did you know I did that?!" Mephiles snarled in surprise, realizing any chance that remained of manipulating Shadow was now gone. The said hedgehog's voice tightened with determination as he said; "Kaynyx told me, less than a year before you killed him! And I, like him, vowed to do everything in our power to stop you! AND, IN MARIA'S AND KAYNYX'S NAMES, I SHALL NOT ALLOW YOU PASSAGE!" he bellowed, and took a mighty swing at Mephiles, who barely parried it. But the dark being suddenly heard Knuckles yell out from behind him, and the crimson echidna rammed his fist-spikes straight into Mephiles' back. The demonic being screamed in agony, but it wasn't over; Rouge the Bat appeared right in front of him, and kicked Mephiles dead-on in the face with all her might. Mephiles was hurled to the ground from the impact, his face now badly cracked and a little bit of ooze leaking from it.

"NO!" Shade the Echidna bellowed, jumped into the air, and jump-kicked Rouge away from Mephiles. He dodged Knuckles' attack and slashed the red echidna across the back, simultaneously helping Mephiles up. "Go master! Head for your ship!" Shade cried, now fighting back Shadow.

Meanwhile, in the firefight behind them, chaos reigned (not to overuse the term). Eggman's and G.U.N.'s forces now outgunned the remaining Black Arms and Metarex, but most of the agents had been killed by the swordsmen, and they were now covered by their gun-armed comrades as they charged into the fray. Dr. Eggman now found himself frantically firing at a Black Arms giant wielding a war-hammer as it smashed aside a dozen of his mechs with one sweep of its arm. Finally, Eggman managed to fell the monster with his giant laser-beam attack. G.U.N. was contending with the Metarex and about two dozen Black Arms Elites at the time, several of which were also armed with swords.

Shade and Shadow battled fiercely in the meantime, Shade's claws and Dark Burner clashing violently. But Sonic managed to land a Homing Attack on Shade, knocking the echidna aside.

"Go catch Mephiles, Shadow!" Sonic said, and dodged Shade's next attack, and kicked Shade in the side. "Give him a kick in the butt for me!" Shadow only nodded in thanks, and threw himself at Mephiles, reigniting Dark Burner's true power, crying; "For Maria!!"

Mephiles barely turned in time to face Shadow, and was tackled down. But Shadow showed no respite; he slashed with all his ferocity, and it melted through Mephiles like fire through butter. Shade, meanwhile, noticed his master's distress, and blew Sonic aside with a Chaos Blast.

"Don't worry master, I'm on my way!" Shade cried, leapt in the air, and flew right for Shadow, gliding swiftly as his claws were held out in front of him. Shadow was too occupied to notice his rival coming, and was slashed across the body, and kicked so hard he smashed into a computer screen, cracking the glass. Shade helped his master up, and helped him towards the ship, but Shade was then tackled by Shadow again, and they continued their brawl. Mephiles' form was now badly damaged, and he "bled" ooze while he limped over to his starship.

However, Eggman spotted Mephiles fleeing, and while his mechs battled the guards, he readied a gun that Eggman was certain would stop his enemy from escaping. "Now, now, Mephiles, no need to hurry" Eggman said with a sinister chuckle, and targeted his weakened foe. "You should really cool down first!" And with that, he fired a sudden burst of freezing-cold nitrogen-molecules at Mephiles, literally freezing Mephiles in place and covering his whole body with ice.

The dark being struggled, but to no avail; he was too weakened to break through it quickly enough. Even the fact that he had made it to the bridge leading directly to his ship didn't lighten things. Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic, Tails, Rouge, Amy, and Knuckles had all broken off from the fight, leaving Mephiles' remaining guards in an utterly hopeless situation against G.U.N. and Eggman's combined forces. Shadow now rushed over to Mephiles, and hefted the evil being off the ground. Then, with a triumphant roar, Shadow hurled Mephiles towards the floor of the bridge they stood upon. Upon impact, Mephiles shattered like the ice he was incased in. His ooze pooled into a helpless puddle. Smirking, Shadow ignited Dark Burner, and pointed it at Mephiles' shapeless mass, and said; "I really hope this hurts."

Meanwhile, Shade had finally broken through G.U.N. and Eggman's forces, bringing about forty Black Arms and ten Metarex with him. He held up his purple Chaos Emerald, and warped right in front of Shadow and the others, creating a powerful surge of energy that made them all fall backwards. Without hesitating, Shade used his Chaos Emerald to gather Mephiles' form into the air, and swiftly bore him towards the ship, the guards – and his enemy Mobians – right behind him.

"Ovator, we are leaving!" Shade yelled over a comm. he had linked to his ear. "Commence launch _now_!"

"_Understood, Shade, sir!_" Ovator replied. "_This may cause a little rough discomfort, so hold on tight once you get onboard._"

Two of the guards gave their lives holding Shadow and the others back, and Sonic was the first to break through and run after them. But Shade, Mephiles, and their remaining guards sealed the door behind him. Amy smashed at it with her hammer, but the metal didn't budge, not really to anybody's surprise.

"Guys? I think we're low on time!" Knuckles exclaimed, pointing upwards. Everyone looked up to see that a huge hatch in the ceiling was opening to allow the ship space to take off and leave the planet behind them. Even Shadow felt a tinge of hopelessness at this sight. Luckily, Rouge spotted a nearby terminal, and had an idea.

"Tails! See if you can get us in!" she exclaimed, pointing at it. Tails nodded, wasting no words and immediately started to type away at the computer linked to the ship.

Dr. Eggman, however, could hear the tell-tale sounds of the ship's engines warming up. Growling, he opened up a link to a nearby group of air-force mechs that served as fighters. This particular group was just outside the base, and had a clear view now that the hatch was open.

"Soldiers! Target that starship! Do not let it escape with the technology it stole from me!" Eggman growled into the comm.. "Disable it! Do not let it take off!" The mechs replied by firing missiles down the hatch and into the hangar. A G.U.N. officer nearby saw what was happening, and sharply faced Eggman.

"What are you doing?!" he shouted at the doctor. "The Mobians are still in there!" But the doctor didn't' seem to hear him.

Tails, meanwhile, finally got the door open. Sonic was about to compliment his friend... when Tails suddenly shoved him backwards. It turned out to save his life; a missile exploded right where Sonic had been standing a moment before. Tails clung to the starship, the part of the bridge he had been standing on now having collapsed below. To make matters worse, there seemed to be an explosion below, and everyone felt a rumble...

The starship's engines had ignited and roared to life, with Tails still clinging to the opening he had made.


	15. Shadow of a Doubt

**Chapter Fourteen: Shadow of a Doubt**

Mephiles' ship was lifting off now, with the said dark being on the inside, and everyone who wanted him dead on the outside.

"Let's go!" Amy yelled, and leapt right after Tails as the ship slowly started to move upwards. She grabbed onto his feet, and Sonic leapt after her, grabbing onto her feet. Then Rouge, then Shadow, then Knuckles, creating a ladder of Mobians. The sight would have actually been comical, had the situation not been so drastically dangerous.

"Tell the Commander that Mephiles has launched, but Shadow and the Mobians are hot in pursuit!" the G.U.N. officer who had helped lead the attack told a nearby corporal. "Also tell him we're almost done securing Mephiles' base. Soon, every last guard shall be rounded up. Oh, one more thing; see if he can coordinate any assistance for Shadow's group; they'll likely need it." With that, the officer turned to glare at Dr. Eggman.

"And doctor, please, no more fireworks tonight; we cannot afford to lose Sonic, Shadow, Rouge, or any Mobian for that matter" he told the infamous scientist. "Do not target the starship! See if you can have your mechs track down and capture/destroy any guards remaining here". Eggman sighed, and nodded. But as soon as the G.U.N. officer and his men left, the doctor reactivated his link.

"Robots, target that ship, and begin tracking it!" Eggman ordered. "Regroup with Mauve in my destroyer that I have waiting outside. We'll continue our attack from there." Eggman looked up the chute, seeing the enormous plumes of smoke that Mephiles' ship had left behind upon launching. Then, he added; "If I cannot have that ship, neither can Mephiles!"

*With Shadow, Sonic, and other Mobians: Exterior of Mephiles ship*

Before anybody could lose their grip, Knuckles had jumped off and now clung to the ship, climbing expertly up to the open door. From there, the echidna helped lift Tails and everyone else on board. It was still incredibly unstable, as the ship was rumbling as it broke the planet's gravity, so Tails quickly shut the door once they were all on board. However, once they went higher into the atmosphere, the pressure rocked the starship and knocked them all on their backsides. Finally, the pull of gravity lessened, and they sat up.

"That's better" Sonic piped in, breathing a sigh of relief. Tails quickly opened the next door, and led them deeper into the starship. Looking around, even Shadow had to admit he was impressed with what he saw: the interior was something that would make Eggman have an aneurysm with jealousy.

All of the metal was jet-black like the exterior, and everything was coated in power cells that actually fed on being in the metal, drawing upon its components and recycling them so that the walls remained sturdy, but the cells (which were glowing bright green) got the components they needed to power the minor systems of the ship. The metal was also extremely durable; even all the attacks Eggman had hit the ship with had only left a few dents and blackened marks on the outside. But the metal seemed... organic, somehow, as Knuckles observed on running his hand over it, and almost jumping out of his skin when it moved.

"The wall's alive!" Knuckles cried out, and punched it with all his strength. "Take that, you freaking creep!" Shadow just rolled his eyes and continued walking, but Tails stopped to explain it.

"Knuckles, it's not alive; it's just organic material" Tails said. "Kinda like skin; it reacts to touch, but isn't alive itself. My guess is that Mephiles used his ooze-like substance and combined it with titanium, or some other metal that Mephiles' scientists discovered. So don't worry, it-" But Rouge interrupted the fox.

"You guys coming along or what?!" the bat yelled back at them. "We're not gonna save any fighting for you guys just because you're touring the cruise!"

"No; fighting Mephiles isn't the main problem; not right now, anyway" Shadow replied. "The starship is the real problem; without it, Mephiles cannot unite with Iblis. If we take control of it or destroy it, then problem solved. All we have to do after that-" Shadow drew Dark Burner, tossed it in the air, caught it, twirled it around in his hand, and stabbed the wall with it to emphasize his point, "Is beat Mephiles once and for all."

"Hell yeah!" Sonic chimed in, and slammed his fist into his open palm. "Ass kick-o'-clock!" Shadow ignored him, and faced Tails. "If we get to the core, can you take control of it from there?" he asked.

"So long as there's a computer terminal" Tails replied. "But, why the core? The bridge would offer more direct control."

"One; the bridge will be more heavily guarded" Shadow replied cynically, as if it were stupidly obvious. "And secondly... if we can't take control of it, we'll have to overload the core and destroy the ship." Everyone was quiet as they let this sink in...

Could they be on a suicide mission right now?

"The sooner we move, the sooner we beat Mephiles, and can get control of his ship" Rouge said, breaking the silence. "Now, let's move!"

Sonic and the others nodded enthusiastically. Then, they jogged onwards. Knuckles glanced nervously at the part of the wall that was still jiggling from where Shadow had stabbed it, and followed them.

*Mephiles' Starship: Bridge*

At this moment, Ovator single-handedly controlled the starship, which was barely three miles out of gravitational-pull range. Two Black Arms Elites and a Black Arms Giant guarded the door on the inside, and six standard Black Arms soldiers and four Metarex guarded the outside. Shade was bringing Mephiles over to a machine that Ovator had prepared in order to give Mephiles a deadly, physical form once again (similar to the one Shade used at the beginning of Return of Mephiles). All other guards were in the core room, making sure the Sword of Chaos continued to cooperate with the ship. Suddenly, Ovator gasped, and nervously looked over at Shade and Mephiles.

"M-Masters?" Ovator said, trying to stay calm. "First off, you'll be happy to hear the launch was a total success; all systems are 110 percent, and we're on course. Secondly..." Ovator swallowed a lump in his throat. "Well... according to my readings, the security cameras I put on the ship have... er, well, detected that... Shadow and the other Mobians... boarded our ship."

"WHAT?!" Mephiles snarled, almost making Shade drop him in surprise. "Those meddling vermin are dragging their filthy feet across my ship?!" Mephiles slithered to the ground and towards the shadow of the image he was going to take the shape of. "Shade, once I take my new form, we shall intercept and destroy them! I will not allow them to stop me when I am so close!"

"Are you certain that is wise, master?" Shade asked calmly. "Shadow has discovered the true power of the dagger he wields; he is much stronger now. Also, our guards are few in number and will not be able to help us much."

"Not to mention that it would appear Mauve didn't make it to the ship when all personnel were summoned" Ovator added.

Mephiles didn't reply at first, and instead looked at the form he was going to take; it was twice as tall as his original form, and had long horns twisting from the head, much like his form when he wielded the Havoc Blade, only these horns were longer. This image also had a long, spiked tail with a spiked mace at the tip of it. Mephiles slithered into the image's shadow, and slowly took its form.

"To answer your question, Shade..." Mephiles finally replied, "It matters not; you, me, and the personnel on this ship are the only things to stop Shadow and his wretched allies. This new form will give me an advantage, and with you at my side, with none of their human or other Mobian allies to interfere, we can crush them!" With that, Mephiles finally grew to his full height, and his green eyes blazed with power on his new body. "At last, vengeance shall be mine!"

Smiling evilly, Shade bowed in reverence to his master, and faced Ovator. "Where is Shadow and the Mobians located, Doctor?" he asked.

"Dead for the power core" Ovator replied. "If you hurry, you can catch them. I'll keep the ship steady from here."

"Very well" Mephiles said, and stepped towards the door. "I leave the bridge guards here, Ovator, in case some of Shadow's allies slip through. I shall contact you when Shadow's broken body is smeared across the deck!" And with that, they exited the bridge.

*Border of Earth's atmosphere: Eggman's destroyer*

Although this wasn't as strong, durable, dangerous, or large as his flagship, Eggman still felt comfortably safe in his destroyer. He felt so knowing G.U.N. and he had a mutual agreement, and that Mephiles was running with his tail tucked between his legs, so to speak. Knowing that the flagship was only fifteen minutes away, and having well over eight hundred mechs guarding his ship helped Dr. Eggman feel a little safer as well.

"How far away is it?" Eggman asked the computer system that independently ran the ship on its own. "Can our terrestrial-missile sites still hit it, and not be noticed by G.U.N.?"

"Yes, exalted doctor" the computer replied in a monotone voice. "It is moving at a slow but steady pace; it shall be within range for the next fifteen minutes at this rate."

Eggman snickered evilly. "Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Fire the first batch of missiles, and see what that ship's defenses are capable of!"

"As you order, Emperor Eggman Robotnik" the computer replied.

*Mephiles starship: Bridge, with Dr. Ovator: One Minute after Mephiles' and Shade's departure*

Everything was running smoothly on the bridge; the core was siphoning more power to the engines, and they were picking up speed. In less than two hours, the Chaos-Propulsion Generators would be powered enough by the Sword of Chaos to launch, and Mephiles' mission would finally be complete. But then, the radar suddenly went off, and a siren sounded through the ship. Ovator glanced at it, and saw that eight bogies were inbound. Zooming in on them using camera he had on the outside of the ship, he saw they were M-7 B-00-M missiles. Ovator grew a bit nervous again; two of those missiles was equivalent to the power of half a nuke.

"Master Mephiles, hostile attacks inbound!" Ovator said to Mephiles over the comm.. "Eight missiles have targeted our ship! Our armor will likely hold, but shall I target them with our other defenses?"

"Yes Ovator, just do not let my ship become harmed under any circumstances!" Mephiles snarled as his reply. Without hesitating, Ovator targeted the missiles with the ship's lock-on laser beams. They fired individually, and Ovator had the satisfaction of watching the missiles explode one by one. But then, the last missile continued on... and the laser wasn't firing at it. When Ovator glanced at the weapon-control panel, Ovator saw something infuriating:

It was a bleeping error sign, and it had a silhouette of a bat giving him the finger: a typical, yet unique, hacker signature.

"Master Mephiles!" Ovator cried through the comm.. "I think Rouge the Bat has hacked in! A hacker virus has disabled our weapon systems, and I cannot-" But he was cut off as the missile struck the ship... and the entire vessel rattled violently, more so than it should have. Mephiles and Shade fell over as they tried to chase Shadow and the others, who also fell down on the impact.

Ovator came to only one conclusion on why the impact was especially violent:

The hacker had somehow disabled the ship's organic armor on the outside of the ship as well, which was extremely difficult unless they had inside information. And the only way to do that would be to somehow tap into the ship's security and terminate the organic armor from the inside. Either Rouge had managed to snatch some data during the attack on the base, or it was somebody else. Ovator dismissed this, however, and decided to try and delete the virus, and get them through this in one piece.

*Earth's surface: Dr. Eggman's destroyer*

"Enemy ship's offensive and defensive obstacles are offline, exalted doctor" the computer replied to Eggman. The doctor cackled joyfully; now, Mephiles' ship was a sitting duck. It had virtually no chance of surviving the arsenal Eggman had targeted at it. And G.U.N. couldn't blame him for the Mobians' deaths, either; the devious doctor had triple-checked that factor.

"Thank you so much, Mauve, my friend, for giving me the codes to disable those defenses" Eggman said, and turned to face the said bat. Mauve was leaning back in a chair, his feet propped up on the computer panel, smoking another cigar, and smiled crookedly at Eggman.

"Oh, believe me, Robotnik..." Mauve said, chuckling as he looked at the damage Mephiles' ship had suffered on the computer, "It was my pleasure."

Eggman turned back to the computer. "Launch all remaining missiles!" he commanded, and held up his hand, clenched to a fist. "Blow that ship to oblivion!"

*Mephiles' Starship: Power-core chamber*

In the core room of Mephiles' starship, six Metarex, seven Black Arms Elites armed with rifles, three Elites armed with swords, one Black Giant, fifteen standard Black Arms equipped with swords and shields, and five more standard troops armed with pistols guarded the area. Every one of them was alerted by now that Shadow and the other Mobians had infiltrated the ship, and they stood alert and ready. What concerned them most, however, was the constant thudding of the missiles hitting the ship; they weren't sure how much more it could take. But then, the door to the left shuddered with a blow. They all faced it, and aimed their rifles at it.

They were still caught completely by surprise.

The door went flying, and smashed into two of the guards, causing a deal of confusion. Then, Sonic rushed in, smashing into the Black Aliens and Metarex with impossible speed and strength. The world's fastest hedgehog zipped around them, delivering lightning-quick punches and throwing them all in a daze. Knuckles arrived next, and flew right into the group, shattering the shields of the Black Aliens who attacked him, and bashing their skulls in. The Black Arms Giant made a move to smash Knuckles with its hammer, but a Chaos Spear hit the beast dead-center on the chest, blowing it open and killing the best as it gave an agonizing howl and died. Rouge, Shadow, Amy, and Tails entered next, and pooled their efforts into the fight. Soon, in less than two minutes, all the guards were either unconscious or dead.

"How pathetic" Rouge said with a scoff, and gave a Black Arms Elite one more kick to keep it down.

"How amazing..." Tails said breathlessly, gazing at the main core of power on the starship. Everyone turned to look, and had to agree; it was amazing: the Sword of Chaos was suspended by a powerful magnetic force and could be seen through a thick wall of semi-transparent Chaos Energy that the Sword emanated to power the starship. The energy seemed crystalline, and slowly moved like a thick, lazy river. It gave off a soft glow, and actually seemed warm. A few normal, white lights shined from the ceiling (probably courtesy of Ovator's tastes), but other than that and the smaller green, energy cubes that drew energy from the walls and their organic structure, the light mostly came from the core's glow.

"Tails? Do you see a computer terminal you can use?" Shadow asked the young fox, who nodded.

"Right over there!" he said cheerily, and walked over to it. It was a normal sized computer, but Tails could use it to directly control the ship's power. He plugged in a program he made that dismantled thousands of complex firewalls per second, and set to work. Everyone waited eagerly for Tails to gain access to the mainframe; Shadow and Rouge constantly exchanged glances, wondering if one of them should try hacking it. Sonic and Amy casually chatted while leaning against the rails that separated the floor from the vast, empty space below that would eventually funnel anybody foolish enough to fall in it into the core. Knuckles simply paced around the core, watching for anybody who might try to ambush them. Finally, Tails wiped sweat off of his brow, and faced the others with a big smile.

"I got access guys!" the fox exclaimed. "Now, I just need get past this last code, and it'll take about six minutes to load the files I need that will give me full access to control the ship from here!"

But at that moment, things grew dramatically bleary; a door opened, and Mephiles the Dark walked into the room, flanked by Shade the Echidna. Everyone was shocked by Mephiles' new appearance, and readied into a stance. Sonic quickly sized Mephiles' form up, and quickly regained his confidence, but knew it wouldn't be too easy, either.

"Tails, I don't think we have six minutes!" Amy exclaimed.

Mephiles calmly strode to the center of the room, casually stepping on the corpses of his guards as if they weren't there. The dark being's eyes were trained on Shadow, who still hadn't faced Mephiles. Tails was typing furiously, trying to accelerate the process however possible.

"Mephiles..." Shadow said quietly, and quickly drew his dagger. "Let Maria's soul take revenge this day!" And with that, Dark Burner blazed to life, and Shadow leapt at Mephiles with a roar. Thinking quickly, Mephiles summoned black flames to his stone-blades, which was enough to keep Dark Burner from slicing through once Shadow landed his first blow (but the demonic being still had to mend them). Mephiles and Shadow exchanged a few, rapid blows while the others closed in. The dark being's bright, green eyes blazed with pure hatred at the ebony hedgehog.

"You made a terribly grave mistake following me here, all of you!" Mephiles snarled as Shadow, Rouge, Knuckles, Amy, and Sonic surrounded him. With a roar, Mephiles struck out at all of them with all his pent-up rage and fury, wanting nothing more than to kill them all. Amy blocked a blow of Mephiles' tail by smashing it back with her hammer while Sonic landed a Homing Attack to Mephiles' back, but the dark being grabbed Sonic's arm and slammed him onto the floor. Knuckles sweep-kicked Mephiles, and delivered an uppercut that nearly made Mephiles fall off of the railing. Shadow and Rouge moved in to finish him together, but Shade appeared before them, blocked Shadow's attack, and jump-kicked Rouge away. While Shade battled Shadow, Sonic rushed forward with Amy and Knuckles to keep Mephiles busy. Tails occasionally fired a pot-shot at Mephiles with his electronic-pulse gun, which distracted the dark being, but did little more than that. Although she dearly wanted to help her husband, Rouge knew Mephiles was the bigger problem, and helped Sonic and the others fight him.

Shade knew his steel claws didn't stand a chance against Dark Burner's true power, so he simply dodged Shadow's slashes, only blocking Shadow's hands when he could. The two exchanged blows for some time; Shadow often tried Homing Attacks and Chaos Spears, which Shade returned with Dive-Bomb attacks and his own Chaos Spears. Finally, deciding he should save Dark Burner's true power for when he really needed it, Shadow extinguished the fiery blade, and locked Dark Burner with Shade's claws, pinning his echidna rival against the rail. Their strength was practically even, and they gritted their teeth as they tried to overwhelm one another.

"Mephiles was leaving, Shadow!" Shade growled. "You did not have to come here to your doom!" This comment surprised Shadow, though not as much as it normally would have; the hedgehog was beginning to notice a shift of balance between Shade's loyalty to Mephiles and his own personal honor.

"This is the way it must be, Shade" Shadow said lowly and seriously. "And if you're protecting Mephiles, then you are in my way, and I shall destroy you as well!" With that, Shadow sweep-kicked Shade, and pressed his foot down on the echidna's chest. But before Shadow could finish his rival off, another few missiles hit the ship, and the violent shockwaves tumbled the ship and the force knocked Shadow over onto his backside. Mephiles and Amy, who had locked weapons, got tangled and fell over as well. Shade leapt at Shadow, ready to skewer the hedgehog on his blades, but Shadow kicked Shade in the chest, and they resumed their sword/blade play.

The others, meanwhile, had their hands more than full with Mephiles at the moment; the dark being's new body gave him increased strength, and somehow more agility, not to mention the deadly tail covered in spikes. Sonic and Amy often fought Mephiles on one front while Knuckles and Rouge attacked Mephiles' other side, but the dark being always seemed ready to counter anything they threw at him. Finally, however, Mephiles took the bait Rouge set by faking a move to attack Mephiles' left, and Sonic and Amy sprung the trap. First, Amy smashed her hammer onto Mephiles' tail and pinned the dark being to the ground. Before Mephiles could register what had happened, Sonic rolled into a ball and bounced onto Mephiles' body with the force of a meteor, making the dark being cry in anger and pain. Then, Knuckles kicked Mephiles in the head while Rouge simultaneously kicked him in the torso, sending Mephiles sprawling to the ground. But the dark being sprang back to his feet, seized Amy by her arm, and threw her right at Sonic, sending them both flying. Luckily, Sonic grabbed onto the railing before they plummeted down off of the platform, and grabbed onto Amy as well. Rouge and Knuckles resumed the fight with Mephiles while Shadow dueled Shade.

*Mephiles' starship: Bridge: Two minutes later*

Ovator was frantic to the point where he was almost in tears. He had managed to get weapons online for a few, brief moments at a time and had destroyed about six missiles, but over nine others had hit the starship. Only one outcome was certain now:

The starship was going to be destroyed.

Another miracle struck, both long enough to destroy one of the now ten inbound missiles, and reactivating the organic armor to cushion the blow of two more. But these miracles only delayed the inevitable; whoever was firing these missiles knew that very few structures could survive this kind of bombardment. Ovator calculated that they could survive maybe nine more hits before the ship was history, and seven more were still soaring towards them.

And the weapons' control monitor still showed the silhouette of the bat giving him the finger.

"Oh, fuck you too, you blasted hacker!" Ovator snarled and smacked the computer on its side. But then, to Ovator's great surprise, the jolt he gave it actually gave him brief control over the weapons system, and the ship's defenses fired and destroyed two more missiles.

Maybe they would make it after all, so long as they moved fast enough to get out of range.

*Mephiles' starship: Core room: One minute ago*

Sonic and Amy had been knocked pretty low down, and were slowly and delicately climbing up the side of the core room to get back onto the top of the rail. Tails now helped Rouge and Knuckles a bit more in holding back Mephiles, but the fox still concentrated mostly on getting access to the core. Shade and Shadow continued their epic duel, although Chaos-related attacks were kept to a minimum so that they wouldn't hit the core and get them all killed.

Suddenly, two missiles hit the ship at the same time, and the ship almost twisted upside-down, knocking everyone down and tumbling over one another while the ship regained its gravitational balance. But while Shadow stumbled, Mephiles took advantage of this, and blasted the hedgehog with a surge of energy...

Sending him flying right towards Shade.

At first, Shade didn't know what was going on, still trying to reorient himself from the impact. But just as he stood up and reached forward to balance himself, he saw Shadow flying right towards him...

And the hedgehog's stomach was impaled on Shade's outstretched claw.

Shadow gritted his teeth against the pain, and glared up at Shade. The echidna's face was a mix of surprise, horror, and perplex. Shadow groaned, and lowered himself off of the blade, his legs a little weak. Then, another missile hit, and Shadow tumbled to the ground in a heap, groaning softly. Shade just stood there in shock, not sure what he should be feeling, which surprised him even more. So the echidna just stared at his fallen rival, feeling so different from the time he defeated Shadow in Central City, more than two years ago.

Then, Rouge turned her attention over to her husband, and her eyes widened when she saw Shadow's limp form, Shade's standing form, and blood on Shade's claw. Her eye twitched, and she screamed; "SHADOW!! NO! NOO!!" Then, her aqua eyes turned upwards to face Shade, and she snarled with hate.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!" Rouge screamed, and leapt right at the echidna, who was still in a daze. Shade looked up in time just to see Rouge's boot kick him right in the face, sending him flying and rolling across the floor. Shade groaned, and looked up to see Rouge leap at him again, and jump-kick him, slamming Shade into the wall, and slumping onto the ground. The vengeful bat was about to rush forward to finish him, when Mephiles suddenly got in front of her. Rouge's anger dismissed her initial surprise, and she tried to jump-kick the dark being as well. But Mephiles swiftly caught Rouge's leg, and then grabbed her arm, and brought her stomach down on his knee so hard that every one of Rouge's ribs were either cracked or broken. Screaming in pain, Rouge was hurled over to lie in a defeated heap next to Shadow. Mephiles chuckled in satisfaction, and turned to face Knuckles, who had been trying to help Sonic and Amy up. Mephiles charged right at the unsuspecting echidna, and smashed his tail into him. Knuckles grunted as the air was knocked out of him, and was then kicked upside the head. Mephiles summoned his long, barbed whip, wrapped it around Knuckles' leg, and slammed the echidna around like a rag doll, and finally tossed him to smash into a wall near Shade.

Sonic and Amy, meanwhile, finally got back up onto the railing, and quickly looked around. Suddenly, Sonic's eyes widened, and he pointed at Mephiles, who was now facing them.

"Oh, shit..." Sonic mumbled as Mephiles angled his blades for attack.

Sonic and Amy rushed him together, but Mephiles just knocked Amy aside, dodged Sonic's attack, and kicked Sonic's leg so hard, it twisted over and became dislocated.

The blue hedgehog screamed in pain, but Mephiles just stepped on Sonic's back and crushed him flat onto the floor. Amy quickly rushed back and swung her hammer at Mephiles, but the dark being blasted her aside with a burst of black flames. Amy looked up to see Mephiles right in front of her, and in a ditch effort, threw a punch at him. The demon laughed mockingly, and caught Amy's hand. They locked eyes for a moment, and in a swift motion, Mephiles brought his other hand down on Amy's arm, and literally shattered her shoulder-bone. Amy almost puked from the severe pain, but Mephiles still launched her across the room with a blast of energy and knocked her against the wall.

Now, Mephiles was completely unopposed, and he laughed to himself, savoring his victory.

*Mephiles' starship: Bridge, with Dr. Ovator*

The ship was now a flaming wreck; Ovator had diverted full available power to the engines, trying not to take so much as to deprive the Chaos-Propulsion generators of the enormous amount of energy they needed. But the scientist knew that the ship would only be able to take another two missile-hits before they were dead, three if they were lucky.

But, as of right now, ninety missiles streaked towards the ship.

"Oh, why didn't I just move to Soleanna and become a professor when I had the chance?!" Ovator exclaimed. "Now I'm going to die in space for a cause I despise, and nobody will ever know! Damn this all!"

Suddenly, however, the missiles that marked the ship's destruction suddenly just... stopped, and drifted away, dead in space. For a moment, Ovator didn't dare believe it, but he broke into a huge grin, stood up on his chair, and whooped with joy.

"YES!! WE'RE OUT OF RANGE!! HAH! THEY CAN'T GET US!! SUCK ON THAT, YOU BLASTED HACKER!!! HAH, HAH!!" he exclaimed, wishing he had somebody to kiss. He sat back down, and contacted Mephiles. "My lord! The missiles cannot hit us! Our mission is going to succeed!"

*Mephiles' starship: Core room*

"Guys! I just got one more code, and the system is under my control!" Tails exclaimed, presently oblivious to the battle's current state. "Almost there! Uh... guys?" the young fox inquired, frantically looking around. Turning to his left, his ears drooped as he looked up right into Mephiles eyes.

"Meddlesome little computer worm!" Mephiles hissed with hate, and lashed out with his blade, cutting Tails across the torso and hurling him to the ground with a scream. Mephiles breathed in deeply, savoring his victory, and walked over to Shadow's limp form, which only groaned and clutched at the stab wound. Shade hadn't harmed him mortally; only enough so to cause major bleeding and extreme pain.

Looking upon his fallen foe, Mephiles took a moment to remember all the battles he had fought against Shadow. First, in Soleanna, when they had first met, and when Mephiles had tried to convince Shadow of humanity's flaws and the justice in their destruction. Then again in Central City, when he had united Shade, Eggman, the Metarex, and thousands of Black Aliens under his cause. Then on the Aero Fortress, when Shadow had fought him with Dark Burner for the first time, and when Kaynyx gave his life so that Mephiles' victory would be postponed even further. After that, the Temple of the Fourth Great Civilization, when he and the Lost Ones had brushed Shadow and his team aside like leaves. And finally, when Shadow assaulted Mephiles' base, leading to the starship. Gathering this all to memory, Mephiles also gathered all of his hatred as he hefted Shadow off the ground by the hedgehog's neck.

"It is time I finally ended this!" Mephiles growled, and brought his blade down...

With a solid *clang!* against metal.

Looking at the source, Mephiles saw that Shade the Echidna's claws had blocked the killing blow to Mephiles' greatest enemy.

*Earth's surface: Dr. Eggman's destroyer*

Eggman was glaring at the screen that showed Mephiles' starship... as well as his missiles that had died before striking their target. Well over fifty of some of his best missiles were now floating, useless and dead, in space.

"WHAT HAPPENED?!" Eggman bellowed, slamming his fist down on the computer panel. Mauve glanced over at his employer, and shrugged. "I'd guess their ship's out of range, doc" he replied, gave one final puff on his cigar, and extinguished it in his portable ash tray. "You have any other weapons, ones that can fire further?"

Eggman suddenly grinned wickedly, and chuckled. "Why yes, I do, actually..." he said, and faced the computer. "Contact Metal Sonic, and have him fire our Chaos Missiles from my flagship!"

"Yes master" the computer replied. "Sending message... One moment... message received. Chaos Missile-launcher is online and primed."

"Fire at will!" Eggman commanded, and from his nearby flagship, one large, bright-blue missile filled with artificial Chaos Energy flew with incredible speed up at Mephiles' ship.

*Mephiles' starship: Core room, one minute ago*

Mephiles and Shade stood in tension, their eyes locked. Shade's claw still held back Mephiles' blade from killing Shadow, and Mephiles still held the hedgehog by the throat. There was a long, tense silence, and when Mephiles finally spoke, it was with pure, venomous anger.

"HOW... DARE YOU..." he whispered with shaking wrath. Shade's face expressed sadness, and a little of the fear he now felt.

"Shadow is defeated, master" Shade said softly. "Please, master, do not dishonor him; he does not deserve it. He is down, and we need no longer worry. We've won. We should not-" But Mephiles suddenly dropped Shadow, and seized Shade by the throat.

"YOU GO TOO FAR, YOU IMBECILE!" Mephiles shouted, and hurled Shade across the room to smash into the wall. The dark being stalked towards him, raising his blade. "MUTINY! HOW DARE YOU GO AGAINST MY WISHES, YOU INSOLENT IDIOT?!" Mephiles screamed. "I AM MEPHILES THE DARK!! MY WISHES RISE ABOVE ANYBODY'S PETTY AMBITIONS!! NOW, SHADE THE ECHIDNA, YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR COMING BETWEEN MYSELF AND MY CAUSE!!"

*Mephiles' starship: Bridge*

At the moment that Mephiles dropped Shadow's body, Ovator was running the ship smoothly, still happy about the miracles that had been strung together to save them. But then, the scanner went off, and so did the alarm. Ovator checked it...

And saw a missile twice as powerful as the others streaking right towards them at twice the speed.

"NO!" Ovator cried, and repeatedly beat his fist upon the panel. "NO! NO, NO!" Moving quickly, Ovator tried to get weapons control back up and running, but the hacker's virus upload still blocked his access.

"Master Mephiles!!" Ovator cried into the comm., "We're about to be blasted, hard this time! Brace for impact!!"

And the missile struck.

*Mephiles' starship: Core room*

The latest explosion had caused so much severe damage, all of the emergency protocols were activated; all doors were sealed tight so that the vacuum of space wouldn't suck anybody out of the ship if there was a breach. There were, in fact, eight breaches caused by this last missile, and a reserve of power had been lost. But in this case, the explosion hurled Mephiles and Shade through the door they'd entered through, and it shut just then. Mephiles quickly stood up and hurled himself at the door, which would take hours to breach, even with his strength.

His greatest enemies were now beyond that door, and he wouldn't let them live; not this time.

"Ovator..." Mephiles hissed on his comm., "Open this door immediately!"

"Yes master; just give me a minute or so to override the emergency protocols in that section" Ovator replied, and actually sounded relieved. "Do not worry, master; we are now totally out of range of attack, we still have enough power to complete our mission, and we're on course! And now, I can safely say that we're in the clear!"

Meanwhile, inside the actual core, the Mobians were all struggling to stand up. Rouge was down on all fours, not daring to stand up with her broken ribs. Sonic managed to limp over to the rail and hold himself up, and helped Amy up as well. The pink hedgehog just let her arm dangle loosely, for it pained her to so much as wiggle it. Knuckles had just barely recovered from a minor concussion, and his leg was badly cut from where Mephiles' barbed whip had wrapped around him. The crimson echidna limped over to Tails, and tore off a long strap of cloth from his glove to wrap around Tails' wound. Shadow had taken a shred of cloth from his own glove – and some anesthetic from the pack Rouge always carried on a mission – and sealed the wound, clotting the blood awhile.

"My head hurts..." Knuckles groaned, and puked while leaning over the rail. Shadow gritted his teeth and glanced at the door that Mephiles was still slamming into, trying to get back in.

"We're screwed if Mephiles gets back in" Shadow said with a grimace. "Mm... we need to find a way stop him before he does! Tails... did you get access yet?"

The young fox grimaced in pain, but nodded. "If I hit the correct password, then yes" he replied. "But... I doubt I'll be able to do anything before Mephiles gets back in" he added sadly, his ears drooping.

Rouge, who was nearby, growled in frustration. "So, Mephiles wins this one? We lose, just because *Ow* we weren't quick enough?!" she said angrily. "That's the stupidest reason to lose for us! We're Mobians!"

"It's not like we're in a shape to fight right now... well, at least, not very well" Sonic put in. He glared over at the door that was all that stood between them and a demonic murderer. "Stupid bitch is gonna stain my record with this defeat!" he growled.

"Tails... you know what we have to do" Shadow said darkly, glancing over at the young fox. "We have to do it; there's no other option."

Tails' eyes widened. "You mean... overload the core?!" Tails asked. "We're all going to die!"

"We're going to die anyway when Mephiles breaks in!" Rouge snapped. "C'mon fox boy, get some perspective!" But Tails still looked incredibly nervous, wringing his hands and constantly glancing at the thudding door.

"Guys... I-I don't wanna die!" Tails said, his voice shaking. "I... I wanted to show Cream this one invention I made to help soothe her to sleep and make waking up to a-an alarm clock more easily when we got back! I... Sonic, I'm scared!" he said, and tears began to run down his face. Sonic managed to limp over to his friend and put a comforting hand on Tails' shoulder. Shadow sighed, and looked up at Tails.

"Tails, wait... set it on a timed overload, and I'll try and Chaos Control us out of here" Shadow told the young fox. "There's a marginal chance that the Chaos Energy in here will meddle with it, distort us, and... well, your guys' guesses are as good as mine. But there's a stronger chance of us making it out of here alive."

Tails seemed to calm down a bit after hearing this, and nodded. "Okay... I'll do it if it'll stop Mephiles" he said firmly. Sonic smiled and gave his friend a thumb up. "That's the spirit, buddy!"

So Tails approached the console, and rapidly typed in a command. Then, he quickly stepped back. He faced Shadow and said; "I set it for eight seconds. Let's go!"

Shadow nodded, and held up his red Chaos Emerald...

Just as the door opened, and Mephiles saw what was happening. But before he could make a move, Shade rushed in just as Shadow said the magic words: "Chaos... CONTROL!"

As the light appeared, Shade ran towards it shouting; "No Shadow, wait! Please, I'm sorry! I-" But the echidna was caught up in the flash of light, and vanished along with them.

"NO!!" Mephiles cried, running forward. He could feel the tremors, and knew the core was overloading. Thinking quickly, he snatched the Sword of Chaos out of the core, and held it above his head, shouting; "Ovator! We are leaving!" Then, the Havoc Blade glowed brightly, and shouted; "Chaos... CONTROL!!"

And Mephiles vanished, followed by Dr. Ovator on the bridge.

*Dr. Eggman's destroyer: Ten seconds later*

"Target eliminated" the computer reported to Eggman. "Scanning... no survivors found."

Mauve, who clearly heard this, stood up and whooped loudly. "Ha!! Mephiles is gone!" he exclaimed. "Holy shit, this is amazing! Almost too good to be true! Drinks all around!"

Dr. Eggman chuckled and couldn't help but keep grinning at this news; he had eliminated both Mephiles, and Sonic, who Eggman hated with extreme prejudice. Now that they were out of the way, they could contend to dealing the crushing blow to Mephiles' forces now that they were leaderless, and do so without severely heavy casualties. Then, Eggman would crush G.U.N. without Sonic, Shadow, Tails, Amy Rose, Rouge, or Knuckles to help them. And Eggman now had a new ally: Mauve the Bat.

"Mauve, I must once again thank you for your assistance" Eggman said. "Without you, this day might never have come. I'll transfer the promised $1 million to your account right away. Oh, and Mauve? Would you be interested in being my own personal mercenary until I crush G.U.N.? I'll even give you your own country to rule once I establish my empire!"

"Sounds good" Mauve agreed. "Only a few more things; give me my own personal starship with a hot tub and a dozen coolers filled with one of every kind of expensive vodka, wine, champagne, and scotch that there is, along with 500 packs of Mauren's World-Class Cigars, and fifteen Shadow Androids to act as my bodyguards on the ship. Done?"

"Done" Eggman replied, and shook Mauve's hand. "I'll even let you keep it after the world is mine; just don't appear in front of G.U.N., or they'll turn their guns on me while they're still strong."

"No problem doc" Mauve replied, lighting another cigar. Then, puffing on it, he smirked wickedly at Eggman. "I think I'm going to enjoy working with you, Robotnik."

"As am I, Mauve, my friend" Eggman chuckled, looking at a map of the world, imagining it as his. "As am I..."


	16. Allying with True Kin, Fallen Angel

**Chapter Fifteen: Allying With True Kin; Fallen Angel**

*Earth's surface: Angel Island: near temple of Fourth Great Civilization*

Shade the Echidna wanted to die.

The echidna knew what it was like to be lost, but then, Mephiles had found him, brought him in, and gave him a purpose in life. Mephiles had been like a father to Shade, protecting him, offering a friendly ear, and forging Shade into a deadly warrior.

But that was all over now; Mephiles had basically disowned him. And now, Shade's life was bleak, hopeless, and meaningless.

The echidna was walking sullenly across the ground, holding back tears and blindly stumbling over rocks. He walked a long ways, and without really knowing it, Shade climbed up to the top of the temple that had once held the Sword of Chaos. He looked up at a gray sky, and it began to rain. His head tucked downwards, Shade finally snapped, and began to sob heavily, silently cursing the red glow on his eyes that had blinded him so. The rain poured down around him, and with suicide strongly on his mind, Shade saw nothing but darkness...

And then, suddenly, a light shined down on him through the black.

But the blackness returned, full scale, choking off the light, and Shade's pure depression knocked him unconscious.

"Who am I...? Why do I exist...?" Shade wonders, walking blindly through the black. "Who will I fight against and who shall I fight alongside with? Why, who, what... will my questions never end?!" he snarls in frustration.

Then, chilling, evil laughter fills his head, and all warmth fades away. Shade looks into the sky, and sees two, large, bright green eyes glaring at him with menace.

"Shade, Shade, you stupid echidna..." Mephiles chuckles. "You were such a loyal, competent servant... but now, you are nothing! For betraying me, you shall die, and go down in history as an incompetent, blind fool whom nobody wanted to fight alongside with!"

"No! Master, I beg you!" Shade cries, but the darkness strikes him down, and holds him on the ground.

"DIE, TRAITOR!!" Mephiles roars, crushing the weight of all of the world's darkness upon Shade. Choking, Shade tries to fight it back, but cannot move. In fact, he almost welcomes death now, preferable to the shame he'd endure in life...

But then, Mephiles cries out in pain, and the darkness lightens and falls away. Shade breathes deeply, and looks up...

Into the light...

Squinting his eyes at the bright light, Shade's eyes finally adjusted, and he vaguely saw Mephiles' darkness fleeing into the distance. In front of him was a girl who made Shade stare in wonder; she was tall, majestic, beautiful, and she gave off a feeling of peace. She strode towards Shade with her head held high, and her long, golden hair falling around her shoulders. Shade also noticed that this girl was wearing bright, silver armor and carried a falchion sword on her hip. She approached Shade, and smiled warmly.

"Come here, my friend" she said sweetly. Her big, blue eyes held nothing but kindness. "I shall fight alongside you, Shade the Echidna. And so shall Shadow the Hedgehog, your older brother."

"Shadow?!" Shade exclaimed. "He despises me, and rightfully so! My master was dishonorable, and I followed his ways! He shall never want to fight alongside me!"

"Shade, you know it is the right thing to do" the girl said. "Tell him that Maria sent you to join him... that is I. The time has come for you to serve your true purpose; to help others, defeat Mephiles' darkness, and his dishonorable evil. He deceived you, Shade, surely you see that! Look inside the heart Gerald gave you, Shade the Echidna, and you will see that truth. Become the second Ultimate Life Form, and join the fight!"

Then, the light vanished, but the darkness didn't return.

*Back in reality*

Shade found himself exactly where he was when his strange vision began, but the clouds were gone, and the sun was shining brightly. Standing up, Shade no longer felt depression weighing down on him, his head was clear, and his heart was strong.

He now knew his true purpose: to help others, as did Shadow. Mephiles had deceived him, and now, Shade was following his sense of honor, and his heart; he would join those who had shown honor to him in return.

Shade the Echidna would reclaim his brotherhood with Shadow the Hedgehog.

So, he walked off and decided to find Shadow and the others. Passing by, Shade noticed a puddle. Looking into it, and seeing his reflection, he suddenly froze, staring back at himself... and he laughed in joy. A loud, ringing laugh emanated from a throat that had rarely done more than chuckle.

The sinister, red glow around his eyes had vanished. Now, they looked very much like Shadow's, only... brighter, younger, somehow.

So, thus reassured, Shade walked off, laughing to himself.

*About a mile west, one minute later: G.U.N. temporary camp on Angel Island*

G.U.N. had sent a platoon of soldiers from Gamma Company – now renowned as the most skilled fighters in the force – to try and reestablish a position on Angel Island about eight hours after Mephiles had wiped out the previous one. A team of Black Arms Elites – who had brought one gun turret and a Black Arms giant along with them – joined G.U.N.'s force, for Black Fist knew they'd need to try and keep the harmony between these two forces, and they may as well start now. A squad of twenty Eggman mechs was there as well for the same reasons. But now, although the camp was fully established and the defenses and communications were up, everything was hectic.

Just barely an hour ago, Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Knuckles had been found nearby, all of them either unconscious or semi-conscious, and badly wounded.

Although Rouge's injuries caused her the most pain, Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles were the ones closest to death from blood loss. Tails and Knuckles were tended to, and soon, color returned to their faces while Sonic, Amy, and Rouge were given the best bone-mending treatment G.U.N. had to offer. But though they had given Shadow the same treatment they had given Tails and Knuckles, he was still unconscious and appeared a bit frail. The troops and medics there guessed that Shadow had been disoriented by Chaos Control, and had probably crashed somewhere he didn't mean to. This seemed likely, at least if he had been distracted while using Chaos Control. A stab wound definitely qualified as a distraction.

Rouge, Sonic, and Amy had been guaranteed a full recovery, and had been transported back to G.U.N. Headquarters for more thorough medical care. Tails and Knuckles now walked around the base, their bandages the only sign of injury they had since they walked so strongly and readily. But Shadow's conditions concerned everyone there more than anything; if Shadow died, their only warrior who could harness Chaos Energy would be gone, and defeating Mephiles' forces would be much more difficult. Every medic and nurse in the camp was tending to the hedgehog right now in the medic tent.

One medic was reading Shadow's vitals, and checking his pulse. The commander of the camp – Colonel Maximus – came into the tent. He looked at Shadow's unconscious form, checked the hedgehog's pulse himself, and turned to face the lead medic.

"Doctor? What's Agent Shadow's sit-rep?" Maximus asked.

"I don't know for certain, sir..." the medic replied with a hint of nervousness. "We've given him quite a bit of blood, but we're not certain whether or not it was in time. There wasn't much internal damage from the stab, and what damage there was is healed now. I think it's mostly mind-related, sir; he suffered trauma during Chaos Control, but I don't know why; likely because something interfered with it, possibly another source of Chaos Energy."

"Will he make it?" Maximus asked, dreading the answer.

"I don't know sir; we haven't seen a problem like this before" the doctor replied, and sighed heavily. Maximus nodded, and put a hand on the medic's shoulder to show that he didn't blame this man for not knowing what was wrong. Maximus looked at Shadow closely for a few, long moments, praying for a sign of movement. Then, sighing heavily, Maximus stood up, and began to walk out of the medical tent.

"Let me know if he wakes up within the next three hours, or shows any sign of life" Maximus told them. "If not... well..."

"Don't dump my body in a river, sir; that's unbecoming an honorable warrior."

Turning around to see who had spoken, Maximus saw Shadow the Hedgehog standing up and, after one staggering step, regained himself and approached the colonel without a hitch, and gave him a sharp salute.

"Agent Shadow, ready for action" he said, and dropped his hand after Maximus returned the salute. The colonel smiled, and said; "A hell of a joy having you back in the action, Agent Shadow; G.U.N. has been mobilizing all available forces; Mephiles' army is larger and more deadly than we can even estimate. According to reports, they've fortified their own, private artificial island just a few miles south of Mystic Ruins."

"Mystic Ruins? That's not far from here..." Shadow replied darkly. "Well, are we the only line of defense should they attack?"

"So far, but the Commander is sending the rest of Gamma Company, three mech platoons, and a company of Black Arms to reinforce us" Maximus replied. "We've pulled back our defenses of Mystic Ruins, and some of them are going to join us here while the rest regroup at the fortress. Shadow... you should see those defenses we're making our stand at. Every senior officer was given a first-hand look at the fortress once the Black Arms warned us of the forces we were up against. The Command Staff and the President were the only ones who knew of its existence, let alone what it was capable of. It's in an abandoned mountain area, but low enough so that it's only about autumn temperature there. There's a huge, triple-layered titanium wall that rises out of the ground. The wall is virtually impenetrable; tests showed it could survive two nuclear missiles and an atom bomb before it was breached. Recently, the wall's been equipped with machine gun turrets, both controllable by personnel and controlled by its own programming, several hidden missile silos, and an energy field to protect against Chaos Energy-attacks. And that, Shadow, is just the first line of defense! The fortress itself... it's like the wall, only about five stories taller, and each level of it is just as heavily defended as the wall! The gate of the fortress is nearly 75 percent stronger than the first wall, and the walls of the fortress are roughly twice as hard to penetrate! We have thousands of missiles ready to launch from the fortress that can reach up to a hundred meters past the front wall! And should the wall be overrun, we have a straight path to the fortress, and the path will be guarded by well over 800,000 soldiers, from each faction that has allied against Mephiles!"

"Wow... I'm guessing the Commander is making sure we cannot lose, eh?" Shadow replied with a smirk. "Now, Mephiles has finally outdone himself! What is this fortress called, anyway?"

"Ah... Guardkaku, I believe" Maximus replied. "It's a combination of 'guard' and the Japanese word for 'impervious', or 'kaku."

"Alright then" Shadow replied with a nod. "Now, we should-" But then, Shadow heard something... it sounded like rustling in the woods that stood on the camp's south flank, about a hundred meters away from the defense perimeter. This was bad; if Mephiles was striking now, they were dead; Shadow knew the chances of Mephiles dying onboard the starship were low: even if Mephiles hadn't escaped the explosion, he'd lick his wounds and come back. Shadow gripped his dagger, his senses razor sharp...

And then he saw it; a moving black and red figure in the woods.

The ebony hedgehog wasted no time; he ran over with all his speed, pulled out his dagger, and jumped his target. Sure enough, it was Shade the Echidna.

Shadow pinned Shade up against a tree and held the dagger to the echidna's throat. Shade gasped, and struggled, saying; "Shadow, please, stop! I mean no harm!"

"Hah!" Shadow replied, and pressed the dagger a little harder against his enemy's throat. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't slit your throat right here and now, you slime ball!"

Shade gasped, and finally said; "Maria sent me! Maria Robotnik!"

Shadow loosed his hold on Shade, but didn't yet release him; this was a reply he wasn't expecting at all. "Maria?" the hedgehog asked. "How do you know of her? And what do you mean she sent you?"

"She sent me... to speak to you, Shadow" Shade replied steadily. "Mephiles has disowned me. I know you won't believe me, and I know you have good reason to despise me, Shadow, but listen; when Mephiles struck you all down with the dishonor that he did, I couldn't take it; I had to do something about it. I stopped him from striking the killing blow, saying how dishonorable it was. Then, he struck me across the face, saying how insolent I was. But... despite all the loyalty I had given him, that is how I was repaid? Shadow... I felt a darkness take me, and I might have died to try and escape its hold. But then, I saw her; a tall, beautiful human girl came to me. She was so... different from what Mephiles told me humans were like. She filled me with peace, and spoke to me calmly. Seeing her big, blue eyes filled with such harmony, her golden hair was like an angel's. Maria... she told me how my place was beside you, Shadow, fighting for all of life, and order, and to throw Mephiles' evil down. Believe me, Shadow, for you know I speak the truth when I say that I now believe what you told me. Mephiles cares nothing for life, much less my own life. His servants are considered disposable to him. Shadow, please... let me fight alongside you to redeem my name."

Shadow looked into his rival's eyes for a long time, searching for deception. Then, he realized that Shade's eyes were no longer glowing red; they were a lot like his own. And Shade had described Maria exactly as Shadow remembered her. Shadow knew Shade was an honorable person; he likely wasn't lying.

But, this all could a trick of Mephiles'.

"Very well... I got worse things to concern myself with anyway, Shade" Shadow told the echidna. "But one tricky movement and I'll carve you into dog fodder."

Shade nodded, and they started walking back to camp. "Fair enough, Shadow" he replied. "Know, however, that you really cannot defeat Mephiles without me. Our only chance is to unite-"

Shadow suddenly turned to face Shade, glaring into the eyes that reflected his own. "Why the hell do we need you? You're one more Mobian on our side, that's all I can see, even if you do have the same powers as me!"

"Shadow, I possess valuable knowledge on Mephiles' plans, the weaknesses of the Lost Ones, and how many troops he has" Shade replied. "The only one he trusted more than me was Hades, the second-in-command of the Lost Ones. We would be wise to watch out for him; only Mephiles is stronger than him, and was barely so before he had the Sword of Chaos."

"Okay, first question" Shadow said with skepticism, "Why didn't I see Mauve protecting Mephiles when we attacked the fortress?"

"Honestly, I don't know" Shade replied with a shrug. "However, I think he fled the base during the attack to save his own skin. Or, even more likely, he switched loyalties to another employer. Mauve can only be trusted as long as you keep him happier than someone else could keep him, and by the way Mephiles treats servants who fail him in even the slightest, I'd guess Mauve joined another faction. Possibly Dr. Eggman's or another unknown faction. Do you know of another faction?"

"There's the Dark Brotherhood of Marauders we fought and beat a couple of months before Mephiles returned" Shadow replied, "But I doubt Mauve joined them; they're out of business, and both of their leaders are out of commission. Since the Nocturne Clan disbanded, the Brotherhood has been less of a threat, they suffered heavy casualties, and like I said, they're leaderless. No, I doubt they'd have much to tempt Mauve to their side, assuming any of them even survived."

By this time, Shadow and Shade had entered the camp, and everyone eyed the two of them suspiciously. Some even aimed their guns at Shade, but Shadow held up his hands and told them that he had Shade in his custody. Shadow immediately informed Colonel Maximus that Shade wasn't being hostile right now, but should be treated as a prisoner and not be allowed to escape. Thus, the troops took Shade into the make-shift holding cells they made, and plugged in a device the Black Arms had given them that would make Shade's cell become surrounded by an energy cell that would prevent him from using Chaos Control without exhausting himself, and Chaos attacks would take a long time to breach it. So, two guards shoved Shade into the cage (and not gently so), locked it, and activated the energy field. After the guards left, Shadow stayed behind and couldn't help but smirk at the fact his old rival was now behind bars.

Shade sighed, and looked up at Shadow. "Shadow, really, I know you hate me for what I've done, but are these measures really necessary?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm.

Shadow just shrugged. "If you stay here quietly, then you'll help prove that you mean no harm" he replied. "Besides, the Commander won't want to take our words for it that you've left Mephiles; he'll want to test you himself."

"You know I do not lie, Shadow" Shade replied. "To do so is a dishonor to yourself, and the person you speak to. And you should know I am honorable after I let you live on the Aero Fortress."

"Maybe now you are" Shadow said, narrowing his eyes at the echidna. "But I've seen you fight with dishonor; G.U.N. soldiers have been killed by you in cold blood. And the first time I ever encountered you, you defeated me only because I had been worn down after fighting thousands of my enemies, not to mention Commander Red Pine, one of the strongest Metarex ever to exist."

"I blame that on ignorance" Shade said, though softly. "Mephiles told me how evil humans were; how their greed led to their own destruction. The humans were prejudice against others who were different than themselves, and turned a blind eye to those who really needed help. Selfishness, greed, hate, and fear ruled humans' minds, and it had them on the path to death for all. As far as I've seen, these evil traits hold up. Only a few humans I've seen have expressed bravery and compassion, your Commander and Maria two of them."

"Many humans are ruled by this, Shade" Shadow replied. "But not more so than any other sentient race, except for maybe the Mobians. And I have fought alongside thousands of humans, Shade, and the bravery they express at the risk of their own lives is very commendable. That is more than Mephiles or Mauve could say, at least. And although Mephiles never put you in a cage while you served him, at least we won't stab you in the back like he planned to do. And, we shall treat you with the same loyalty you treat us... should you prove to be loyal." Not waiting for Shade's reply, Shadow walked out of the camp, noticing three G.U.N. troops and two mechs now guarding the exit.

Shade, meanwhile, sighed and tried to get some sleep; he hadn't had much lately, nor had he had much sleep at all in Mephiles' service, thinking it was trivial to sleep when one served such a noble, glorious cause as the purging of evil.

Shade now realized that, only now, was he fighting for such a cause; everything before this was delusion.

Just as the echidna was curled up and remotely comfortable, however, Knuckles the Echidna came into the tent. Sighing, Shade pushed himself back into a standing position, and faced his echidna cousin.

"What do you want, Knuckles?" Shade said as patiently as he could.

"Well, just some questions" Knuckles replied, and sat down. "I wanted to ask them before, but you were my enemy then. Now, Shadow tells me you want to join us, and since you really can't hurt me, I figured I wouldn't get a much better chance any time soon."

"I will answer your questions, Knuckles" Shade replied, leaning against the back of his cage. "I have nothing better to do while I wait for your Commander's judgment."

"Okay then" Knuckles said. "It's mostly about you. You see, several months before you, Mephiles, and all your other goons attacked Central City, we ran into a group of people called Marauders. Many of them were echidnas from the Nocturnus Clan, a clan that was wiped out along with the Ancient Civilization shortly after the event of Perfect Chaos attacking them. They had been brought forward in time to be saved by a powerful dude named Ix, who used the Nocturnus Clan and the rest of the Marauders to do his bidding. They had been living in a place called the Twilight Cage, but Ix brought them forth to our world so they could see their ancestral home. There was a beautiful female echidna named Shade who fought as Ix's lieutenant. She later joined us, but she's... gone now. Either dead, or back in the Twilight Cage, I'm not for sure which." Knuckles sighed sadly, but then regained his composure. "I was just wondering... is that where you got your name from? The Shade that I knew?"

"Most likely" Shade replied. "I wish I could've met this other Shade; she sounds like a noble warrior, and it seems she too had a deceiving master, such as I. But to answer your question further, I believe Gerald Robotnik likely came across that name during his studies over the Ancient Civilization. When he created me, he likely decided to use that name for me, as it was an echidna name suiting for both males and females."

"So far as I know, you Shade, me, and Tikal are the only echidnas left on this world after the Nocturnus Clan left" Knuckles said sadly. "They left under the female Shade's leadership, roughly about a month before we encountered you and Mephiles came back. Either back to the Twilight Cage to combat Ix, to reunite with their other clan members, or bring them back here, I have no idea."

"Any other questions?" Shade asked patiently. Knuckles nodded.

"It's about the Sword of Chaos" Knuckles asked. "I think I already know the answer to this, but is that weapon an artifact of the Fourth Great Civilization? And the Temple, was it built by them as well? I mean, it's a lot like the other ruins that the Nocturnus left behind here and on Mystic Ruins..."

"No, actually, it is not" Shade replied with a smirk. "It's older, actually. The Temple itself is about a year older than the Fourth Great Civilization when they came to this place."

"They didn't build the Temple? Or the Sword of Chaos?" Knuckles asked with wide-eyes. "Then... who did?"

"The Sword was created by Chaos himself, and according to Mephiles, Chaos used it in the early wars between gods to gain the power he had" Shade replied. "The Temple was built for when Perfect Chaos first ever came down to our Earth. Scyth, as you already know, was a hero, many years ago. The hedgehog was old before the Fourth Civilization began! But, one day, Scyth and the first Gizoid teamed up and forced Chaos into a weakened state and back to the heavens. Scyth was killed in the battle, but Chaos left his Sword behind. The survivors of that Civilization – simply named the Third Great Civilization – built the Temple around the Havoc Blade to keep it away from those with evil intentions." Shade sighed sadly, and said; "I see now that Mephiles is one of those people."

"One final question" Knuckles said. "Okay; you said the first Gizoid helped Scyth defeat Chaos. But the Gizoids were created by the Fourth Civilization, the Nocturnus, weren't they?"

"Mostly, yes" Shade replied. "But they built their Gizoids based on what they found leftover from the Third Civilization. The first Gizoid had (for some reason) wiped out the Third Civilization. The Gizoid's instability, as you know, nearly led to the destruction of our civilization. The Gizoids the Nocturnus built were fantastic, and nearly-invincible warriors, but none of them could compare to the original, the one the Third Civilization had built. The Nocturnus used the original Gizoid in their wars, but since it wasn't a creation of the Nocturnus, it wasn't sealed in the Twilight Cage with the rest of the Gizoids."

"Ah..." Knuckles said, wrapping his head around what he'd just learned. "That... explains a lot. Damn... I just wish Ix hadn't been so power hungry with the Gizoids... maybe you, me, and Tikal wouldn't be the only echidnas here" he said with a sad sigh. But then, Knuckles brightened up a bit, and said; "Assuming you're not a deceiving little asshole, I'm glad you're working with us now... brother" Knuckles said. "And believe me, you don't wanna make me take that back; you should know how respectful it is when somebody calls a non-blood relative a brother, especially among echidnas."

Shade nodded, and smiled softly. "I shall not disappoint you, Knuckles" he said. "Mephiles made a grave mistake by making me his enemy."

*Three Days Later: G.U.N. Headquarters*

By this time, Shadow, Knuckles, and Tails had completely healed. Sonic, Amy, and Rouge, though they had broken bones, would likely be in fighting condition within the next four days; the healing technology G.U.N. had access to was unmatched. Tails and Knuckles stayed at the G.U.N. outpost on Angel Island to stop and inform Tikal on what was going on while Shadow took Shade to G.U.N. Headquarters to be tested.

It was a no-brainer by the time Shade was done; every test had come up totally true about his intention of throwing Mephiles down. The Commander knew it as soon as he met Shade's eyes. He would've sentenced the echidna to imprisonment or worse, but the Commander had pardoned Shadow of his crimes that the hedgehog had committed against G.U.N. At that time, Shadow had been working with Dr. Eggman to take over the world, but Shadow fully redeemed himself once he defeated the Black Arms. So, the Commander made Shade a deal; he would pardon the echidna of his crimes if Shade served G.U.N. without question until Mephiles was defeated, and play a huge part in doing so. Shade agreed without debate, they shook on it, and although many soldiers still distrusted the echidna, they wouldn't go against the Commander's word.

Shade was monitored while he was at the Headquarters, a condition he had agreed upon in exchange for a room to stay in at the very building. The echidna strode freely down the halls, but was only given the privileges of a lowly soldier, and not allowed access to anywhere besides his own room, the cafeteria, and the exit. He was only granted an audience with the Commander over a view screen. But despite the uneasiness of which he was accepted, he somehow felt more comfortable with G.U.N.; there were no nagging doubts bothering him about his actions, and he knew for certain what was right and wrong.

Shade the Echidna had found his place in the universe.

*G.U.N. Headquarters: Shadow the hedgehog's temporary room*

Shadow was staying at the Headquarters until Rouge completely healed. And to see – firsthand – how G.U.N. was handling their situation: thus far, everything was going smoothly. The President had convinced the Senate to prepare a mass evacuation and bring them all to the so-called invincible G.U.N. fortress to protect them from Mephiles' massing armies. All G.U.N., Black Arms, and Eggman forces were massing to protect this fort while a minority of the militaries still defended key areas like Central City, G.U.N. Headquarters, Sapphire Bay, Eggman's factories, and so on. Colonel Jackson and Sub-Commander Elaine were running the military movements delicately and wisely, making sure that nothing that needed for protecting was abandoned until it was on its way to safety.

Shadow personally knew that what Black Fist told them was true; Mephiles' armies were likely much larger than their own united forces; the dark being had had time to build his forces up, and they could rapidly reproduce. Shadow still remembered how one of the monsters that served Mephiles as a common soldier produced another soldier by absorbing the shadow of a corpse, and creating a monster shaped like the shadow.

Considering how many had died for G.U.N. recently, Mephiles' army was fresh for the picking. G.U.N. and its allies had to be careful.

The ebony hedgehog observed how busy everyone looked as they bustled about. G.U.N. Headquarters was almost always at least a little busy, but during a war, it always seemed like somebody was running one way and someone else would run the other way, barely being able to notice senior officers who passed them and scarcely remembering to salute them. Even during the Mecha War against Eggman people hadn't been this busy.

Shadow, thinking that all this tension was getting to him, decided to go to the base's gym, work out for about half an hour, and go and check on Rouge.

*Rouge's medical room, G.U.N. Headquarters: 25 minutes later*

At this moment, Rouge was curled up and sleeping peacefully. All of the lights were out, and she dreamt sweet dreams of lying in a mountain of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds, making a jewel angel. Shadow was right next to her, watching over her protectively and offering her that warm smile Rouge loved so much.

While the ivory bat slept, the lock to her room was picked, and the door was slowly opened. In stepped a shadowy figure that blended in well with the dark room. It stepped towards Rouge, stepping in the sliver of light coming through the door and briefly revealing dreadlocks on the figure. He stepped towards the sleeping bat, and gazed at her.

Shade the Echidna cocked his head to one side in curiosity. He had always wondered what was so special about this bat that made Shadow fight alongside her, protect her with his life, and always find the strength to fight by thinking about her. Shade had to admit; because of Rouge, Shadow was even stronger than he was. Perhaps, if Shade could understand it, he and Shadow would be evenly matched. He reached towards Rouge, and gently stroked her face. The bat stirred slightly in her sleep, but in her consciousness, Rouge knew she was in G.U.N. Headquarters and completely safe. So she stayed asleep.

Once he was this close, Shade saw a side of Rouge he hadn't noticed before; she was tender, innocent, and very, very beautiful. Her ivory hair was like the white pureness of the full moon, her body was slim and powerful like a warrior princess (_Xenia_ came to Shade's mind, but he discarded it, feeling ridiculous). The ebony and crimson echidna gazed in wonder, and though he did not fully understand, he did understand that Shadow would not want such a fine, valuable beauty to be taken from the world, much like a precious jewel. Shade could only guess that, to Shadow, Rouge was more precious than anybody could understand, unless one knew of this so-called "love" themselves.

Suddenly, Shade heard the unmistakable click of a gun being loaded, cocked and aimed. In a flash, Shade spun around and his claws flashed out from his hands at the ready.

The echidna found himself looking at Shadow the Hedgehog, who held a pistol aimed at him.

"Get out of here. _Now_" Shadow hissed, tightening his grip on the gun. "I don't want to have to stain my wife's hair with your brains."

"Shadow, I meant her no harm" Shade said, slowly moving towards the door. He lowered his guard, but kept his claws out. "I... just needed to see something... I... don't know-"

"I don't care _what_ you wanted, you pervert!" Shadow snarled, resisting the urge to pull the trigger. "Just get out _right now_ or I'll-"

"Oh honestly, will you boys _ever_ stop fighting?!" Shadow and Shade turned to see who had spoken, and saw Rouge slowly getting out of bed, and walking towards them, looking irritated. She came and stood between the two Ultimate Life Forms, glaring at both of them in turn.

"Shadow, I know you care about me but please; if I really felt danger, I would've woken up" Rouge said. "Shade wouldn't accomplish anything by killing me anyway. And Shade..." Rouge turned around to face the echidna, "I know I'm beautiful, but please, visit only when I'm awake, okay?" she said with a wink. Shade's face burned pink and he hurried out of the room, feeling like an idiot.

Shadow glared after his echidna counterpart. "I still don't trust him" he finally said. "He may not serve Mephiles anymore, but he'd sell any of us over in a heartbeat; he doesn't care about us!"

"Shadow, what's the big deal?" Rouge asked huffily, crossing her arms. "If he'll fight alongside us and make our battle against Mephiles a little easier, doesn't he deserve a chance to be trusted? And you really shouldn't speak against me, Shadow; I thought he'd killed you on Mephiles' ship! I loathed every fiber in his being when he stabbed you, accidentally or no! Doesn't that make my word good enough for you?"

"Rouge, I..." Shadow sighed angrily. "Rouge, he's killed hundreds of G.U.N. soldiers! He tossed me through a window after beating the shit out of me the first time we met, for God's sake! He's gotten Mephiles so close to victory so many times it's not even funny. And why? Because he _believes_ it was right! The right thing to do! All Mephiles had to do was make up a story, and he bought it! Ignorance is no excuse to go about killing innocent people and others caught up in a struggle!"

Rouge just looked at Shadow with sad eyes, and said; "Were you so different, Shad?"

Shadow snapped to face her, confusion and anger mixing in his expression. "WHAT?! Why do you say that?!" he growled, his hands tightening into fists.

"It's true, Shadow" Rouge said, and sighed. "Remember when you used to hate humans, and blamed them for Maria's death? You killed all kinds of humans both when you were working for Eggman, and when the Black Arms first attacked! Don't you think it's hypocritical to call Shade evil when your crimes are so alike?"

"Don't talk to me about what I once was" Shadow grumbled, and started to walk away, but Rouge grabbed him, spun him around, and slammed her lips against Shadow's. Shadow's eyes widened, but the shock wore away and he gently returned the kiss, putting a hand on Rouge's neck. Finally, Rouge broke away, gently stroking Shadow's quills.

"Just give Shade a chance, Shadow" Rouge asked, and nuzzled Shadow's chest. "That's what we all gave you."

"I'll... think about it" Shadow said softly, and kissed Rouge's forehead. Then he smirked, and said; "I hate admitting you might be right."

Rouge giggled, and licked Shadow's cheek. "Now, let me get some rest, cutie" she said with a wink. Shadow nodded, they kissed once more, and Shadow left Rouge and let her go back to sleep.

*Angel Island: One day later; nearly 1:00 PM*

At this time, the G.U.N. camp on Angel Island was fully equipped. They had expanded their perimeter near the Master Emerald's altar, but not so close as to disturb Knuckles' and Tikal's home. Several armored jeeps, over a dozen Juggernaut tanks, and well over four hundred more humans and mechs had come to reinforce it. Another eight Black Arms and two Elites came to fortify it as well. This camp was largely covert, and was well-hidden in the dense forests on Angel Island. The Commander planned to keep the camp there to help protect the Master Emerald, and if Mephiles attacked the island, they would pull back and escort Knuckles and Tikal to Death Alins, a hidden island about a hundred miles away from Angel Island. The Commander didn't think the camp would last, especially since Mephiles had supposedly gathered his forces so close to the island. But Knuckles didn't want to take the Master Emerald off of the island, nor give up Angel Island itself without a fight, unless it was the only option. Gamma Company and their other forces kept the camp running smoothly, and were working on upgrading the defenses of the camp in the meantime.

Knuckles and Tikal lay in a bed together in the stone-wall home Knuckles had built them. Knuckles slept soundly while his lover lay against his back, stroking his dreadlocks. Tikal sighed contently, kissed Knuckles on the cheek, and slowly got out of bed so she wouldn't disturb her lover. She stepped outside, stretched and yawned in the bright sunlight of Angel Island. She looked up at the nearby altar and smiled at the bright glow of the Master Emerald. Tikal walked on the green ground of the island, observing the full extent of its beauty; even the temple of the Third Great Civilization where Knuckles, Shadow and the others had encountered the Lost Ones was admirable and impressive to look at.

Tikal the Echidna felt blessed to have a home with somebody she loved in such a beautiful, wondrous place.

But then, as Tikal felt a breeze hit her face, she frowned, and looked from the direction it came from. She felt something... dark coming. Something in the wind upset the beauty, light and peacefulness on the island. It was coming from a southwestern-like direction... and suddenly, Tikal's eyes widened:

That was the direction Mephiles' forces were supposed to be.

"I think we might be in trouble..." Tikal said to herself, and ran back towards hers and Knuckles' house. She immediately ran back to her house, went to Knuckles and shook him awake.

"Huh... what?" Knuckles said sleepily, yawning widely. "Tikal? What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Knuckles... I think Mephiles is coming here" Tikal said nervously. "I felt something in the wind... something dark. I... don't know how to explain it, but he's close... I think we should alert G.U.N."

That woke Knuckles up immediately; the red echidna jumped out of bed and onto his feet. As he ran out of the house, Tikal was right behind him. They ran towards the G.U.N. camp, and several troops patrolling the area turned to face them. Some of the soldiers leveled their rifles at the echidnas, but lowered them once they approached.

"Knuckles! And Tikal, too!" their sergeant said cheerily. "What can I do for you two?"

"No time!" Knuckles said hurriedly. "We must talk to your commander here. Tikal says she has reason to believe Mephiles' forces are on their way here! We need to get ready to fight!"

"Mephiles is coming?!" another soldier gasped. "Damn, that's-"

"Enough talk, Marcus, let's go!" the corporal said matter-of-factly. He turned to face the others, and said to them; "Go with Tikal and Knuckles; bring all of your equipment and get the rest of our platoon down there, stat!" The soldiers saluted, three of them hurrying off with Knuckles and Tikal while two more rushed back to camp.

"How do you know Mephiles is coming again?" one soldier asked Tikal as they ran down to their house.

"I don't know... a feeling, but I'm good when it comes to intuition" Tikal said proudly. Once they arrived at their house, two of them setting a machine gun-turret up while the other went with Knuckles to the top of the Master Emerald altar. The soldier with Knuckles shouldered a sniper rifle, and looked through the scope in the direction Tikal had indicated. For awhile, he saw nothing, and was about to wonder if the echidna had gone mad, when he saw something:

A large group of pitch-black clouds was approaching... faster than the wind could have possibly been blowing it along.

"We have movement!" the soldier shouted. "Everybody, get ready for action; I think Tikal was right about Mephiles being here!" Upon hearing these words, the rest of the squad's platoon arrived at Knuckles' home and the altar, along with five mechs and a Juggernaut tank. Two more machine gun-turrets were set up, barricades were built, and rifles were aimed in the direction Tikal had indicated. Two mechs, and a G.U.N. agent armed with a sword joined Knuckles at the top while another agent and another mech guarded Tikal in her home. Then, they all bunkered down and waited...

And waited...

Nearly five minutes later, nothing happened. The dark storm clouds covered the bright, sunny sky in a matter of seconds, and a sudden, depressing loss of warmth engulfed the island, but nothing more than that. Some soldiers glanced at each other uncertainly. Others were beginning to wonder if Tikal had lost her mind...

But suddenly, a barricade exploded, taking about twelve soldiers with it.

Everyone now saw them; the Lost Ones were flying in uniform order through the sky like a team of performance-jets, flying in perfect formation and leaving a streak of dark energy behind them. All eight of them suddenly landed about a hundred meters away from the G.U.N. troops. Then, Hades stepped forward, and held up a hand to show he meant no harm... for the time being.

"Master Mephiles gives you fleshlings a proposal" Hades sneered, his voice crackling like the black flames on his arms. "Pull your troops back to your camp, surrender the Master Emerald, and we'll give you all two hours to leave. Do so, and we won't lay a finger or so much as spit in your direction."

"I'll never give you bastards the Master Emerald!" Knuckles yelled defiantly, holding his fists in a battle-ready stance.

Hades' voice became sadistic, as if he was smirking evilly, and he said; "Mephiles suspected as mech. And if that is the case, vermin, then not a single one of you will be leaving here with a single limb intact. You shall live, though, and we shall force you to watch as we take those who are dearest to you and allow our monsters to devour them!"

All the G.U.N. soldiers glanced at each other in shock, some of them muttering doubtfully to others. Knuckles just gritted his teeth angrily, not believing for a second he'd let them near Tikal. After a tense silence, the Lost One Nadrina spoke up.

"Master Mephiles has another proposal for you, humans" she said to G.U.N. "Those of you who swear your arms and loyalty to Mephiles shall be sheltered. His army is so massive it creates a wall with its sheer numbers; so powerful, it rivals nature and the weather. Your families will be taken in, and cared for, and generously rewarded for aiding him."

"Do not lie, scum!" one G.U.N. soldier, a young woman, yelled angrily. "I lost a friend to you, and he never meant to get in your way! You're all just heartless, backstabbing bastards!" This encouraged some of the other soldiers, who nodded and gibed at the Lost Ones... until Nadrina drowned the soldier and a mech who stood by her with a blast of acid. After one loud, horrifying scream, the soldier's face melted and slid off of her disintegrating skull. Everyone stared in horror, but one of the soldiers yelled and fired his weapon at the Lost Ones, waking them all up. The entire G.U.N. line fired, including the Juggernaut tank (which Eggman had grudgingly upgraded with artificial Chaos Energy, so it could harm such targets as the Lost Ones).

But when the smoke cleared, the Lost Ones were gone; in their place were thousands and thousands of monsters. These very monsters were exactly like the ones who had infested the Aero Fortress's remains nearly two weeks ago, with a few minor variations. They all roared a hideous battle-cry, and what they lacked in battle-experience was made up in sheer bloodlust. G.U.N. continued firing, but the monsters fired their own blade-like projectiles in return. Some got through the front line, and G.U.N.'s melee fighters stepped in.

And so did Knuckles.

The monsters swarmed up the altar, and Knuckles greeted them like he always greeted enemies: he shattered each of their bodies with a titanic punch. The red echidna only needed the mechs and agent to hold back a few enemies at a time and draw some of the attention away from the monsters that fired their projectiles. They provided the G.U.N. soldier with the sniper rifle a chance to hide and provide covering fire for the G.U.N. troops below. For Knuckles, the battle went well.

But below, it was a very, very different story.

The Black Arms arrived, and had brought about a dozen Eggman mechs with them to reinforce the G.U.N. position. Eighteen more soldiers came as well and set up another line behind the first one, helping in the close-range fighting that was going on. But the monsters were relentless; they tore into the soldiers with ravenous violence. Soldiers were hacked to pieces by the monsters, and were literally torn apart with their claws and fangs. The agents and Black Arms Elites fared a little better, and so did the soldiers with close-range weaponry, but it only delayed their ultimate fate at the hands of these beasts.

To make things worse, the Lost Ones returned at that precise moment. Devabrawn, being easily twice as tall as a human and three times as wide, hefted the Juggernaut tank over his head, and threw it easily a thousand meters away, and off of the entire island. Hades blasted surges of black fire that not only melted away the thickest metal and armor, but it also made the monsters stronger, somehow. Bane was like a demon-version of Sonic with his blade-arms; the Lost One sword master slashed so fast and with such ferocity he sliced five mechs to slivers, and literally cut an agent into bloody ribbons. A Black Arms Elite tried to ambush the demon with its teleportation technology, holding its sword ready for the kill. But Bane slithered away in a puddle of ooze, and rematerialized right behind the alien in a matter of nanoseconds. Then, the alien was decapitated.

Sparxan, meanwhile, continued to torture three or so of his enemies at a time with mental images and horrific scenarios, distracting them long enough for the monsters to actually devour them. Xar was picking up G.U.N.'s own barricades and hurling them with spine-shattering force at the soldiers. Their parasitic brother, Consumar, was feeding off the blood of the alien Bane had decapitated. When he was done, a blood-red fire surrounded Consumar's body, and he sent blasts of fiery torture at his foes, killing dozens at a time. One G.U.N. agent fired at him, but then, Consumar disappeared into the darkness, literally becoming invisible. The agent frantically looked around, praying under his breath to be okay.

"There is no God to help you now..." a voice whispered behind him, and the soldier suddenly fell, a fiery blade protruding from his heart. Consumar then fed on the blood of his kill.

To G.U.N.'s relief, another platoon of soldiers came to reinforce them, bringing a large Flying Dog-mech model with them. The powerful mech opened up on the Lost Ones, forcing them back a bit and allowing G.U.N. to catch their breath for a moment and return fire. But the Lost One Nadrina flew up into the sky, her right arm aiming at the large mech G.U.N. had brought. Then, she fired a huge, merciless wave of acid, engulfing the entire mech and turning it into a useless puddle. Then, the Lost Ones charged back into the fray. G.U.N. and their allies still might have had a marginal chance of victory...

But then, Hurratore entered the fray.

This Lost One, laughing manically in wicked joy, summoned Flying Dog's pool of remains, some shards and scraps of metal, and incased it all in a miniature tornado. Then, he sent it flying towards G.U.N. It shattered their defenses, and most of the soldiers began to turn tail and run. Only a few brave agents, two dozen mechs, the last of the Black Aliens, and about eight delusional soldiers stayed behind.

Along with Knuckles, who still fought back the monsters on the altar, with the few G.U.N. troops he had with him.

Hades the Lost One saw Knuckles battling as ferociously as he was, and suddenly ordered the monsters to pull back and cease fighting. All eyes turned to face him, including Knuckles. Hades stepped up towards the altar, and Knuckles glared at the Lost One defiantly. Finally, Hades stepped up to the top, only a few feet away from the crimson echidna.

"You fight valiantly, echidna" Hades said in a low, haunting voice. "But your strength pales before the fury of our darkness! Back away, now, or you shall burn along with those you love!"

"I'd rather burn _with_ them than without them!" Knuckles said, and held his fists up threateningly. "And I'll never let you have the Master Emerald! I would die, first!"

"Ah yes, the Emerald you have protected from the time you could stand" Hades chuckled sinisterly. "How resolute you are. But, echidna, what lengths would you go to protect this Emerald? Would you let your friends die?" Hades pointed at the house where Tikal and a few G.U.N. soldiers protected her. "Would you let _her_ die, hmm?"

"DON'T YOU SPEAK OF HER!!!" Knuckles screamed, and ran right at Hades. The Lost One was actually taken aback by the echidna's ferocity, and Knuckles smashed into Hades with incredible ferocity, smashing his foe against the ground so hard the stone structure cracked. Then, Knuckles punched Hades in the face, getting a satisfying *_crack!_* sound out of it. But the Lost One snarled, and he unleashed a blast of black flame, searing Knuckles and sending the echidna to smash into the Master Emerald itself. But Knuckles growled, got back on his feet, and charged again. This time, Hades was ready for him; the Lost One quickly backflipped to dodge Knuckles' first attack, and then he spun around and kicked Knuckles in the torso. Before Knuckles could counterattack, Hades summoned a blast of black fire from the ground, launching the crimson echidna into the air. While the echidna was still up there, Hades flew up, and seized Knuckles by the throat.

"You didn't think Mephiles made me the second-in-command of the Lost Ones just out of random choice, did you?" Hades snarled. "He needs somebody loyal to him who's stronger than the rest! I can even survive a Chaos Lance to my body! I wield the fury of hell in my fist! Only Mephiles surpasses me in power and invincibility!"

"You say that like I care!" Knuckles growled, and suddenly smashed his fists against Hades' head in a sandwich-style crunch. This weakened Hades grip, and Knuckles grabbed the Lost One's arms, and then dove towards the ground in a Drill-Dive. When they were near the ground, Knuckles held Hades in front of him, so that the Lost One would get the full blow. Hades crashed to the ground, and Knuckles backflipped away from his foe, feeling triumphant.

But Hades quickly regained his footing, and sent a black fireball at Knuckles. The echidna dodged it, but Hades knew he would, and swiftly rushed the echidna before Knuckles had even finished dodging. While Knuckles' attention was still on the fireball, Hades blasted Knuckles with a surge of energy and smashed the echidna against the Master Emerald's altar. Knuckles shook the dizziness from his head, and faced Hades again. The crimson echidna had to admit that Hades was stronger than the Lost Ones he had fought in the Ancient Civilization temple almost a week ago.

So, Knuckles fought on, and although he couldn't match Hades in power or stamina, he could more than make up for that in skill and experience. G.U.N., the Lost Ones, and the horde of monsters all watched the fight with interest, for it seemed that the contest had come down to both faction's strongest fighters at the time. Knuckles and Hades flew all over the place, causing explosions, throwing rocks at the opponent (in Knuckles' case), and tore hell into Angel Island's dirt, no pun intended. The two of them fought on for at least twenty minutes, and finally, Knuckles ran out of steam.

Hades flew towards the tired echidna, seized him by the neck, and slammed Knuckles into a large rock, just behind the Master Emerald's altar. The crimson echidna was nearly spent, and was frustrated that Hades looked no worse for the wear. Hades tightened his grip on Knuckles' throat, his bright green eyes blazing like horrid flames into Knuckles' ancient, powerful violet eyes.

"Now... in a matter of seconds, the traitor Shade will be the next 'last echidna'" Hades said with a chuckle. "How ironic that the echidnas will, after holding out for so long, will only be the first of every last existing species to become extinct!" Hades then extended a blade covered in black flames (his trademark weapon of choice), and slowly ran it across Knuckles' forehead. The crimson echidna screamed in pain; it was like Hades had inserted a white-hot needle into his brain, and he suddenly puked with a wave of nausea, barely missing Hades' feet. Knuckles gritted his teeth, and eventually fought off the pain.

"No matter when I die, you filthy little flame-groveling son of a bitch," Knuckles growled defiantly, "We won't lose. If I die today, or fifty years from now, you will not defeat us."

"Fool!" Hades growled, and further tightened his grip on Knuckles' neck. "The fury of all darkness is coming to your world! The light will cease to shine, and only death and chaos will reign! Life will be forgotten! All of hell will break loose upon you pitiful mortals!!"

Knuckles choked, but somehow managed to smile, and he said; "Sometimes hell needs to break lose before heaven can claim victory."

Hades actually took a step back and released Knuckles' throat at that. The red echidna coughed, wheezed, and managed to catch his breath and stand up strong again. Hades growled, and aimed his blade at Knuckles. He was about to fire it and blow Knuckles to smithereens...

When he was blasted by a Chaos Spear. Hades' missile misfired, and crashed into his own forces, killing about fifty monsters and knocking Hurratore off of his feet. Looking at where the Chaos Spear had come from, Knuckles couldn't help but grin and chuckle to himself; a G.U.N. helicopter had flown over their remaining forces, and Shade the Echidna had jumped from the helicopter to stand on the Master Emerald's altar.

Two hundred more G.U.N. troops and a hundred more mechs had come rushing to reinforce their allies. They fired heavily upon the monsters, and ten Juggernaut tanks came after them. The tank-mechs' guns were enough to shoot upon a thousand enemies, and not even the demon monsters had the firepower to breach their armor. The Lost Ones destroyed a few of the tanks, but not before a dozen more helicopters arrived, and picked up the G.U.N. troops and mechs. Slowly, G.U.N. was evacuated while the Lost Ones were held back.

Shade, meanwhile, was in the middle of the rescue squad, cutting through dozens of monsters with his claws. His Chaos Powers burned through them, and he inspired the remaining G.U.N. forces to fight with vigor. Eventually, Shade reached Knuckles, who was wearily half-running back to his house.

"Knuckles! Grab your friend, Tikal!" Shade yelled, firing a Chaos Spear at the advancing monsters. "I'll defend the Master Emerald while you get her to safety!"

"Alright!" Knuckles replied, too tired to argue. He quickly retrieved Tikal (and the G.U.N. soldiers that had protected her), and ran up to the Master Emerald, where Shade was already busy in helping G.U.N. defend it from the Lost One Bane and a few dozen monsters. Looking up, Knuckles saw a G.U.N. helicopter flying towards them, a large platform lowering itself from the bottom. Knuckles guessed it was meant to hold the Master Emerald, not seeing any other reason for it to be out. So, while Shade dueled Bane, Knuckles picked the Master Emerald up with one hand, and wrapped his other arm around Tikal. Then, he jumped towards the nearby chopper.

Knuckles' left foot landed, but his right one slipped. Trying to compensate the balance, Knuckles threw the Master Emerald forward onto the platform. Then, he fell forward onto the platform, but began to slip off. Luckily, Tikal leapt out of his arms and helped pull him up.

"I swear, Knuckles, if you were any more reckless, you'd have blown up the world by now!" Tikal said sternly, but with a small smile. Knuckles was too tired to care, just leaning on one of the chains that attached the platform to the helicopter. Soon after, Shade the Echidna joined them, and the platform was raised up. Finally, Knuckles and most of Gamma Company were on its way to safety...

Which didn't change the fact, however, that Angel Island had fallen into the hands of demons.

On the island, soon after Knuckles left, Mephiles the Dark arrived.

The Lost Ones kneeled and formed a small aisle for their master as Mephiles walked past them, the Sword of Chaos gripped tight in his right hand. Mephiles looked around at the monsters that surrounded him; there were already millions swarming across Angel Island, and millions more kept arriving from their temporary base. If Mephiles had a mouth, he would've smiled:

This strongly reminded him of when, many years ago, he had conquered the Black Arms homeworld.

Mephiles took a moment to appreciate the genius of his plans; first, he had manipulated Chaos into coming into the mortal realm, where he became vulnerable, and thus, possible to defeat. And Chaos was defeated, and the god's sword was now his. Then, Mephiles had sabotaged the Gizoid, and not only wiped out any hope of the creation of equally powerful Gizoids, but also the original Gizoid himself. Then, once he had conquered the Black Arms world, he had set forth the events that led to Shadow's creation, as he foresaw. Then, with Shadow's creation, he had created a flawed – yet powerful hero – who everybody would put their faith in. And Mephiles knew, that that faith was ultimately doomed to vanity. Shadow had put setbacks in Mephiles' plans, yes, but he would eventually triumph; the Sword of Chaos assured that. And now, Mephiles had captured a place where his armies could reproduce, and finally become plentiful enough to crush all hope for Shadow and his allies to triumph.

"My Lost Ones, my children..." Mephiles said, addressing the monsters and his brethren, "I think this place needs some redecorating..." And then, he pointed the Havoc Blade at the Temple of the Third Civilization...

Angel Island was now cast into an endless, black darkness.


	17. Equalization

**Chapter Sixteen: Equalization**

*G.U.N. Headquarters: Meeting room*

The Commander, Black Fist, and a hologram of Eggman (who was still confining himself to his flagship) were all gathered here. The Commander was in an awful distress due to the loss of Angel Island yesterday. He had called Black Fist and Dr. Eggman there to discuss their next move.

"Now that Mephiles has room to build his armies, he will soon be mobilizing his for his attack on Guardkaku" the Commander spoke. "I'm convinced that Angel Island wouldn't have fallen had the Lost Ones not decimated our forces as badly as they did."

"Perhaps, but Mephiles would have arrived himself eventually, and if by some miracle you had managed to stop _him,_ then his army would've eventually overrun your position. You shouldn't have left any forces on Angel Island to begin with since we're gathering at your fortress now" Black Fist pointed out.

"_Ah, such a perfect vision, hindsight_" Eggman's hologram spoke with sarcasm. The Commander nodded, shooting an angry glance at Black Fist. "I doubt I could've convinced Knuckles the Echidna to leave the island otherwise, anyway" he pointed out. "Besides, it gave Shade the Echidna a chance to prove that he truly wishes to fight for us. I'm not turning a blind eye on him, but we can count him as an asset now."

Black Fist nodded. "But, your main point is that we have to put our plan to eliminate the Lost Ones into play now?" he said. "As you already pointed out, they caused most of your casualties at Angel Island."

The Commander nodded. "Yes. That is precisely why I called you here. Now, Black Fist, you know more about our enemies than we do. What would you suggest?"

"I'm glad you asked" Black Fist said with a ghost of a smile. "Me and my generals have long prepared for this moment, and have studied the history of the battles against Mephiles' forces (when he first invaded our homeworld) quite thoroughly." With that, Black Fist began to slowly pace around the conference room. "Now, tell me, is there a central place that Mephiles would want to invade? A place he could easily surround with his armies?"

"_Long have I studied the defenses of Central City_" Eggman's hologram replied. "_It is easy to surround and cut off – if you can get to it at all – but tactical warfare would be abandoned and difficult for large armies once entrenched between the skyscrapers._"

The Commander nodded with a frown, knowing damn well the reason Dr. Eggman had studied Central City so thoroughly. "I agree with Eggman on that" he told Black Fist. "Why do you ask?"

Black Fist openly smirked this time. "Whenever Mephiles attacked a major city on our homeworld, he always used the same strategy, and by then, we had not the numbers to stop this strategy. Always, he would gather a million or so of his monsters, and completely cut off all hopes of escape. But they wouldn't send the monsters themselves in; the monsters would only be there to prevent escape or to prevent reinforcements or rescue from coming. Instead, Mephiles would send the Lost Ones – and sometimes come himself – and they would use their awful powers to cause mass destruction and wipe out the population on their own. Now, as to my strategy…" With the Commander's help, Black Fist summoned a 3-D image of Central City on the table. "We shall gather the Mobians in the middle of the city, and entrench themselves with defenses," here, Black Fist indicated the middle of the image. "Mephiles will no doubt use the same strategy he has always used to take down cities, and will be drawn to this one with the promise of destroying many humans and his worst enemies. However, the Lost One Izar has perished according to Shadow, so Mephiles will have to account for his loss. If we evacuate the city under radio silence, Mephiles will arrive only to see his most feared enemies well-defended and ready for him. We would send Shadow and most of the other Mobians to attack Mephiles, and provoke him into following them into Central City. Their superior speed should allow the Mobians to outrun the Lost Ones."

"I have no doubt that Mephiles will take the bait," the Commander said after a moment, "but your plan has a few flaws. First off, it would be difficult for Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, and the others to break past the blockade, especially if they _do _defeat the Lost Ones. What of that?"

"I would recommend that, while the Lost Ones are engaged in combat, you send in about eighteen or twenty of your fighter-planes to air-strike the blockade and create an opening" Black Fist replied. "Once the Mobians defeat the Lost Ones, you can send in a few of your dropships to come down and pick them up, since the danger of an aerial attack will likely be gone. But keep the fighters around as long as possible, so as to escort your pick-up ships. Oh, and if you can," Black Fist said, his eyes brightening with an idea, "See if you can equip your fighters with weapons capable of harming the Lost Ones."

"I cannot replicate Chaos Energy" the Commander said, "unless Shadow powers the weapon, or we have a Chaos Emerald. And we _do _have some, but I wouldn't risk losing them to Mephiles so we could power up a couple of my fighters."

"_I believe I can help with his_" Dr. Eggman interrupted. "_If your promise not to study the technology, I should be able to upgrade a dozen or so of your fighters with artificial Chaos-Energy by tomorrow._"

The Commander sighed, irritated at Eggman's desire to keep a few advantages over G.U.N. in spite of the danger that had created their fragile alliance. But he nodded, and agreed. "Now… that brings up another flaw in your plan, Black Fist" the Commander said. "I know all of the Mobians we are sending in are competent, but shall they be on their own?"

Black Fist shook his head. "No, but we should only send in the most competent of soldiers to assist them; otherwise they'd just get in the way" the Black Alien replied.

"I'll send in Gamma Company" the Commander said. "About a hundred or so of them have seen at least two real battles, and that company requires more hard-core training to be a part of. They've worked with Mobians before, as well."

"_I can spare about twenty Shadow Androids to assist you as well_" Dr. Eggman added. "_Their laser-cannons are powered by artificial Chaos Energy anyway. Oh, and I should be able to upgrade Gamma Company's weaponry with Chaos as well, Commander._"

"I'll send a platoon of hand-picked Elite Soldiers and a team of Black Arm giants as well" Black Fist put in. "I already possess weapons capable of harming the Lost Ones."

The Commander nodded, now thinking Black Fist's plan had a solid chance. "Just one last thing, Black Fist" the Commander said. "What if Mephiles joins in the attack?"

Black Fist thought for a moment, and sighed. "If he does, our forces will have to take the _utmost _precautions. But, if the Dark One does led the attack, we'll have a chance to end the war right then and there."

The Commander nodded, and spent a few moments in thought. Then, he nodded. "Very well. I'll alert Team Dark, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Shade, Silver, and Blaze of this mission. Meeting adjourned."

*Shadow and Rouge's house; Night Babylon. 9:00 PM*

At this time, Shadow and Rouge were spending time with Luna in the living room. Shadow held Luna in his arms, smiling down at his beautiful daughter. He and Rouge were squeezing precious seconds into their time with Luna, what with the battle against the Lost Ones looming over them tomorrow; G.U.N. had contacted them with the mission details via encrypted e-mail about a half-hour ago. Suddenly, Luna tugged on Shadow's bracelet, as if trying to remove it, making Shadow smirk.

"Heh; inherited your mom's greed, eh?" he asked with a chuckle, kissing Luna on the head.

Rouge glared at Shadow playfully, and lightly punched his shoulder, and said; "Oh c'mon. I'm not as greedy as I used to be" she pointed out with a smirk. Rouge then took Luna in her arms, and nuzzled up to her husband's chest-fur, making Luna coo softly.

Shadow nodded, and sighed. "It's just not fair, Rouge..." he muttered. "I mean, right after we defeated Eggman, too; we're in another war, and we're fortunate if we get to spend two days with our own daughter." Shadow sighed again, watching Luna coo and bite a nearby throw-pillow.

Rouge glanced at Shadow, and nodded, sighing as well in frustration.

"I know what you mean, Shad" Rouge said, "But just think; when this all over, we'll have all the time in the world to spend with Luna and raise her as a family. We'll watch her grow up in peace" she added reassuringly, kissing Shadow on the cheek.

Shadow nodded, and smiled as Luna triumphantly lifted the throw pillow. "Yeah... I just wish we-" He was cut off as Luna smacked the pillow right into Shadow's face. Then the baby hedge-bat burst out laughing at her surprised father.

Rouge also burst into laughing along with her daughter at this, and pulled the pillow from Luna's hands.

"Heh, she showed you up, Shadow" Rouge chuckled, then held the pillow up from Luna who was desperately trying to reach it. Then, surprisingly, Luna made her little wings flap, and she hovered into the air, and snatched the pillow back.

Shadow's eyes widened along with Rouge's, watching their daughter with pride. "Oh my God... did Luna just...?" Shadow asked, looking at Rouge in disbelief.

Rouge glanced back at Shadow, her disbelief mirroring his. Then, with a tear of pride rolling down her face, she picked her daughter up and cuddled her, making Luna coo and nuzzle her mother's cheek.

"It's just not fair, Shadow" Rouge said softly, her ears drooping a little. "Why can't we just spend every day with her like this?"

Shadow smiled softly, a tear of happiness creeping down his face as well. "I know, Rouge..." Shadow said, and gathered his family near him. "But I promise, we will have peace, and someday, we'll live with each other without interruption. I swear it" he said solemnly.

Rouge sighed in content, and rested her head on Shadow's shoulder. Then she moved Luna so that she sat between her mother and father.

"I know, Shadow" Rouge said softly. She smiled at her husband. "You always keep your promises." Rouge kissed Shadow's cheek, who returned it to Rouge's forehead. "I love you two more than anything in this whole wide world" Rouge whispered, and kissed Luna's head one more time.

Shadow smiled, and put his arm around his family. He'd never been so happy in his life, and for the moment, the darkness of tomorrow was forgotten.

*Meanwhile, Emerald Town: Silver and Blaze's house*

Silver looked out the window, thoughtful as he usually was. He sighed wistfully, wondering what tomorrow would bring. He was thinking, wondering; what if some of us don't make it? Silver glanced over at Blaze, and shuddered. He couldn't even imagine what that pain would be like...

Blaze glanced up from a book she was reading, though she really wasn't digesting any of the words, and gazed at Silver, thinking just about the same thing.

"It'll be okay, Silv. Even if one of our crew don't make it....even if you or I don't make it, at least we'll still be together spiritually" she said, standing and coming to sit next to him. Pulling him close to her, she nuzzled his chest and sighed. "I'll never really leave you, Silver...I promise. Don't worry" she murmured to him as she listened to his heart beat, wondering if she'd ever hear it again after tonight.

Silver nodded, smiling sadly. "Yes... I suppose for all his hatred and destructiveness, Mephiles cannot destroy our spirits or souls, can he?" he replied thoughtfully, and kissed Blaze's cheek. Then, he chuckled softly to himself. "Am I still the naive hedgehog you've known for so long?" he asked teasingly.

Blaze smiled and looked up into his eyes. "No Silv...you've matured a lot since we first met. In fact, I don't think you're the least bit naive now...well...maybe a little" she teased, then gently kissed his lips.

Silver gently returned the kiss, caressing Blaze's face and pulling her deeper into the kiss. Finally, he broke the gentle exchange, nuzzling Blaze's cheek as he withdrew. "I love you, Blaze..." Silver whispered.

Blaze smiled softly and nuzzled him again with a content sigh. "I love you too, Silver, and I always will, no matter what happens. Remember that, okay?" she said, then quickly wiped a tear from her eye so Silver wouldn't see.

Silver kissed Blaze's head one more time, and held her close. Silver felt warm cuddling Blaze. Was it her heat from her fire-powers, her fur, or her love for him? Perhaps all three, Silver decided, and fell asleep.

Blaze smiled as her lover fell asleep and cuddled closer, tucking her head under his chin and nuzzling his fluffy chest. "Good night, love..." she whispered and fell asleep in his arms, listening to his gentle breathing.

*Emerald Town: Miles "Tails" Prowers' house: 9:12 PM*

Tails the Fox was making some tune-ups on the _Tornado_ in his garage in preparation for tomorrow's battle. The young Mobian was unusually nervous about tomorrow's battle. Whenever he knew he and Sonic were about to fight an enemy, he was usually no more than a bit skittish. But they weren't going up against mindless Eggman robots; they were going against Mephiles in his prime, and only so they could eliminate the Lost Ones and make a future battle easier.

Just as Tails was finishing upgrading the engine so it could cover more distance and require less fuel, and after he had made sure all weapons were working properly, he heard a knock at the door of the living room.

"Coming!" Tails shouted, and ran to the door, wiping off the oil on his hands with a rag as he went to the door. He opened it, and Cream the Rabbit stood there, smiling shyly. Her Chao companion, Cheese, was with her too, of course.

"Cream! Hi!" Tails said happily. "How're you doing? What's up?"

Cream smiled sweetly up at Tails, her hands clasped in front of her. "I was just coming by to visit you before the big battle tomorrow, but if you're too busy...." she said, glancing down at the rag in his hand.

Tails shook his head. "Nah, I'm done. Come on in!" he said. Cream walked in, and he shut the door behind her. "So, want some hot chocolate or something?"

Cream nodded and followed behind Tails, glancing around his workshop. "Are you nervous about tomorrow Tails?" she asked, looking concerned.

Tails hesitated a moment, and he nodded. "Yes… the Lost Ones and Mephiles are probably the toughest enemy we've faced. But we have good on our side, and we've been through a lot. Evil, on the other hand, turns in on itself. We'll do fine." Tails heated up some hot chocolate for Cream, and offered her a seat. "So, why'd you come by? Something up?" Tails asked.

Cream's smile wavered for a second and she shrugged. "Well I kind of wanted to ask you something" she said quietly. "But I know you'll probably say no..." she told him, looking at the floor.

"Go ahead and ask" Tails said with a reassuring smile, and Cheese also nuzzled his rabbit-friend's shoulder in encouragement.

Cream hesitated, then sighed. "Well, I want to help out tomorrow and I know I'm not great at fighting, but every little helping hand would be useful, right?" she said, glancing back up at him.

Tails' eyes widened. "What…?" he asked, suddenly concerned. "Um… well…" Tails was about to object, but he suddenly remembered all the times Cream had helped them defeat Eggman, despite her age. With her little Chao companion, they were a surprisingly-good fighting duo, even though Tails knew Shadow would laugh at that statement. Cream _was _just a little older than himself, after all.

"Well… it's really not up to me, but it should be okay" Tails replied hesitantly. "Just don't go into the direct fight; stay with someone like Sonic or Amy all the time, promise?"

Beaming, Cream hugged Tails and nodded. "Okay, I promise I will! Thank you!" she told him excitedly. "I felt like I should be with my friends during all of this and hoped you would agree" she said.

Tails chuckled and returned the young rabbit's embrace. "Yeah, no problem Cream" he said. "Still, like I said, we should check with somebody else first. I'm certainly not in charge of this mission."

Cream nodded. "All the same, thanks Tails!" she said sweetly, with Cheese nodding emphatically next to her.

"Oh!!" exclaimed Tails, snapping his fingers. "I just remembered; I built you something! Stay right here, and don't move, okay?" And with that, Tails ran off into the house, Cream covering her eyes and grinning in curiosity.

Finally, Tails returned, and Cream heard Cheese exclaiming excitedly. "Chao-Chao! Chao!!"

"Okay Cream; open your eyes!" Tails said, and when she did, she squealed; Tails was holding a replica of a marigold, only it seemed to be made of crystal. It was perfectly crafted, and incredibly beautiful.

"I carved it out of glass, only I put an energy field inside it to make it able to withstand more trauma before breaking" Tails explained. "It's actually an alarm clock, but not your average kind; instead of a shrill alarm, it send soothing waves to your brain when you want to wake up, and it makes you fully alert, no sleepiness or anything! It works perfectly; I've tried it several times myself!"

"Oh Tails, thanks so much!!" Cream squealed, and tightly hugged the young fox. "I love it! It's so perfect! You're so sweet!"

Tails blushed a little at this praise as he hugged Cream back. "Well, alright; you better be getting home; we got a heck of a day tomorrow" he said. Cream nodded, and turned to leave.

"Thanks again Tails! You're the best friend anyone could ask for!" Cream said with a sweet smile, cradling her new gift. Cheese flew over and briefly hugged Tails' shoulder. "Bye Tails! Goodnight!"

"Goodnight Cream!" Tails called, and the young rabbit left, gently shutting the door behind her. Tails smiled to himself for awhile, stood thinking, and decided to clean up and go to bed.

*Angel Island: The next Day…*

What was once an island of renown and beauty and sanctuary, was now a twisted nightmare from the jaws of hell:

Angel Island wouldn't be recognized at this moment by anybody, not even its guardian, Knuckles; what was beautiful on the island was now either destroyed, or horribly disfigured.

Once Mephiles had fired his dark energy at the last Temple of the Third Great Civilization, the power of the Sword of Chaos had amplified it, and transformed the temple into a jet-black stone fortress with a large, ten-story black tower rising from the ground, with the appearance of a skeletal hand clutching at the air from the dirt that buried the corpse.

The Lost Ones had then set to work, establishing walls along the borders of Angel Island (which they expanded by summoning dark clouds of solid energy to accommodate the countless monsters that was Mephiles' army). Then, they had destroyed the trees, bushes, and even ripped the soil from the ground and made tunnels to further accommodate the armies. The structures they didn't destroy they reshaped to their liking, turning white and gray stone to black, twisted stone. The only structure which the Lost Ones had little effect on was the altar of the Master Emerald. But the Lost Ones still managed to destroy parts of it, and blacken several of the steps with fire. As a final touch, the Lost Ones created the dark clouds of energy to form a large bridge to connect Mystic Ruins to Angel Island, which even further accommodated the troops.

In Mephiles' plan, the entire Earth would look like this when he was done with it, and then give it to the Lost Ones to do as they pleased. Then, he would ravage the rest of space and time and finally have full dominion.

*Angel Island: With Mephiles, near center of the island*

Mephiles the Dark now observed as his glorious army swarmed what was once enemy territory, leaning on the Sword of Chaos like a royal scepter. Soon, Mephiles would be mobilizing his armies en masse to crush the gathered forces of his united enemies at Guardkaku. According to reports, the humans would barely have time to complete the evacuation of the civilians before Mephiles attacked. They would catch the enemy just as he was pulling his trousers up, so to speak. Mephiles would be leaving about five-hundred thousand of his monsters here with one of his brethren, just in case – by some miracle – the Mobians, humans, Eggman, and the Black Arms managed to defeat him. Between one Lost One and a massive number of monsters, they could maintain their existence and still be a formidable force. But if all the monsters died, and only one Lost One was left, they wouldn't have sufficient power to maintain physical form, and they would be destroyed. The same thing applied to the monsters; if Mephiles and all the Lost Ones died (or left the planet), the monsters would die within minutes.

Suddenly, Mephiles saw one of his brethren flying towards him from a distance. As it approached, Mephiles recognized the shape of his faithful second-in-command, Hades. Mephiles turned to face his brother as Hades landed with an impact barely a meter away from him.

"Ah, good to see you, my brother" Mephiles greeted in his silky, cool voice. "Is all in readiness?"

"It is, my master" Hades said, bowing to one knee. "The troops are assembling into units. Our numbers are far above the numbers of our enemies, and our war machines shall punch through the few advantages they have over us."

"Good" Mephiles replied, nodding. "However, as I said, I would prefer to keep Bane here with a sizeable number of our soldiers, just in case by some ill fortune we fall. There are a few positions the humans and their allies have secured on the path to their fortress, however, and we will need to punch through them. I'd recommend striking Central City first, to lower their morale."

"Ah, about that, master; we've received word that Central City's military personnel has left. Only the President, his guards, and the few ships that guard his house and his escape ship remain, along with the civilians" Hades said with a hint of malevolent enjoyment in his crackly voice. "If we strike soon, we can reach them before they've evacuated!"

But suddenly, they were interrupted as the hill they were standing on suddenly shook with an explosion of energy to the left, making Mephiles stumble and almost fall, and knocking Hades over completely. Mephiles snarled, and looked at the direction from where the energy came from. He briefly commanded Hades to gather the other Lost Ones, and then flew over to the source of the attack. The dark being saw several figures fleeing, and he pursued them. Mephiles went over to the border of Angel Island, and towards the nearby inland, and finally identified his attackers.

What he saw absolutely infuriated him.

Shadow the Hedgehog, Shade the Echidna, and Sonic the Hedgehog all stood there, looking up at him with amused smirks (except for Shade). With them was Miles Tails Prower, driving a jeep that also seated Amy Rose and a G.U.N. soldier manning a large machine gun on the back of the jeep. Rouge the Bat was there as well, mounted on a motorcycle.

With a chuckle, Shadow flipped Mephiles off, and then ran off. Shade, Sonic, and Tails' jeep sped off after them.

Mephiles considered chasing after them, but thought better of it, and returned to Angel Island. When he got there, Hades had already assembled the Lost Ones. Mephiles approached them, and they bowed and listened to their master.

"Brothers and sister, we now have a chance to remove the greatest of our foes in one swift stroke! Shadow and several other Mobians – including Shade, the Prince of Traitors – have fled towards Central City. If we hurry, we can destroy them. I shall stay here with Bane, and organize an army to surround and cut off the city so they cannot escape. Hades? Lead the rest of our brethren to victory; I shall be along shortly."

Hades nodded, and flew off with an explosion at his feet. The other Lost Ones took off immediately after him. Then, they flew with all speed in pursuit of the Mobians.

The next, major contest to decide the fate of the universe was about to begin.

*With Shadow, Rouge, Sonic, Amy, Shade, and Tails: En route to Central City*

Shadow was now riding on the same motorcycle Rouge was, his arms wrapped around her waist. They drove next to the jeep with Tails, Amy, and the G.U.N. soldier manning the gun with Sonic just ahead of them. Shadow wasn't sure if the Lost Ones had taken the bait, but he had a feeling they were being followed, and he knew Mephiles had no reason to _not _go after them; Mephiles' anger often blinded him to the subtle, possible dangers he faced.

The freeway on which they were on was lightly occupied; only a few G.U.N. jeeps drove down the road, escorting minivans and other vehicles to Guardkaku as the evacuation was being finished. Suddenly, however, the sky darkened behind them, enough for Shadow's peripheral vision to notice and make him look behind them…

The Lost Ones were following them in a "v" formation, like hideous dragons mocking the natural order of pacifist geese. They left the sky dark for several moments in their wake.

"Shit…" Shadow muttered. "Rouge, can't you speed this thing up?!"

"It's already full-speed, Shad!" Rouge shouted back through the roaring wind of their velocity. "Besides, if I _could _go any faster, I'd probably crash!"

Shadow sighed, and noticed that though the Lost Ones were far behind them, they were slowing gaining. Shadow knew they'd likely reach Central City before the Lost Ones and still have time to spare, but he couldn't shake a feeling of apprehension at the chase.

Hades, meanwhile, watched the Mobians in amusement, pondering their foolish move. Why had Shadow simply struck out at Mephiles for seemingly no other reason than to provoke him? Hades suddenly realized they were likely running right into a trap…

But then, how could they refuse? And how could the Mobians possibly know that Mephiles would be bringing millions – yet merely a fraction of his army – to reinforce them? Shadow the Hedgehog and Shade the Echidna were the only enemies alive who posed a threat to Mephiles, and they now had a perfect chance to eliminate them, using a classic, infallible, by-the-book strategy to eliminate them once and for all. They were no match for the Lost Ones when they were united all together; the battle in the Ancient Temple had proven that. So, Hades continued to fly casually, ignoring the fact that Shade the Echidna had helped in the said battle.

Suddenly, however, Xar chose that moment to break formation, and flew down at a much faster pace towards Shadow's group.

"Fool!! Get back in formation!" Hades shouted. "We must wait for them to reach the city!!" But Xar paid no attention; oh yes, he intended to go to the city, but only after wiping out Shadow single-handedly, and ridding Mephiles of his strongest opponent. Xar had dreamed of this, and imagined himself gaining a boost of power (and respect) from Mephiles as a reward, and then retaking his place as second-in-command.

Shadow heard a noise behind him, and only saw a black van and a bus behind them, nothing out of the ordinary. But had he looked longer, he would've seen the black van accelerate dramatically, closing in on them. Had Shadow looked then, he would've seen the driver had bright, green, devilish eyes.

But Shadow only turned around again when the black van suddenly began to transform, melting and molding itself into a black/dark-purple bipedal figure. Then, Xar roared and ran towards Shadow and the group.

"Rouge! Slow down a moment; I need to get off!!" Shadow shouted at his wife. Rouge looked around at him like he was crazy. "What?! Why?!" she shouted.

"One of the Lost Ones; he's closing in on us fast!" Shadow shouted. "Just slow down, and I'll take him; keep going and draw the rest off, I'll be right behind you!"

Rouge hesitated, and then lightly pressed on the brakes. When they'd decelerated a few miles, Shadow leapt off, using the flames from his fire skates to cushion his landing. But he barely had time to recover; Xar smashed into the bus with such ferocity it was smashed in two. Xar then manipulated the two flaming chunks of the vehicle, and threw them at Shadow, who barely jumped over them. As soon as Xar passed the bus's remains, he leapt at Shadow and tackled the hedgehog with such momentum he carried the ebony hedgehog off of the road and onto another road below them that was part of the freeway. They tumbled, and Xar smashed Shadow across the face. Shadow grunted, but in one motion, he drew Dark Burner and slashed it across Xar's face, and kicked the Lost One off of the road. Shadow warped down to meet the Lost One on the ground.

"You cannot defeat one of the Lost Ones on your own, fool!" Xar snarled, and lashed out with his power, tearing a hunk of concrete from the road, and flung it at Shadow, who warped behind a pillar to dodge it. Shadow summoned Chaos Energy to Dark Burner, and the blade burst forth into invincible flame and power, sending new reserves of stamina and strength through Shadow.

Suddenly, Xar lashed out with a blade at Shadow, who easily hacked off the blade –and the arm it was attached to – with Dark Burner's power. Xar cried out in surprise and fear as Shadow slashed Dark Burner across the Lost One's body, leaving a huge, sizzling scar. Then, Shadow kicked Xar to the ground, and plunged Dark Burner's fiery blade deep into Xar's body. After Shadow drew back and awaited a moment, Xar's body shriveled up, and exploded. Shadow smirked in satisfaction, and sheathed his favorite weapon. Then, he warped back onto the road, and ran as fast as he could to Central City.

One devil-spawn down, several billion easy ones and eight hard ones to go. It was time to take care of them all.


	18. Battle for Central City

**Chapter Seventeen: The Battle of Central City**

*Central City: With Rouge the Bat, Shade the Echidna, Sonic the Hedgehog, and other Mobians*

Rouge and the others soon arrived in the center of Central City (no lame pun intended). When they arrived, they were little surprised; Gamma Company had set up their main fortification in an area that could be led to on foot via two roads, as opposed to being in a three-way or four-way intersection. The walls were made of thin metal walls for the first line of defense, deployable ground-shields from the Black Arms, and then the classic sandbag routine. The wall was fairly high, so they'd have a chance against aerial attacks. They also had a huge view in both of those directions.

A couple dozen laser and missile-turrets (capable of being controlled and shot by a single person) surrounded the defense's barriers. Several Black Arms Elites and about a dozen Shadow Androids milled around as well. Speaking to Colonel Maximus (who was promoted from the rank of major after the battle of Sapphire Bay) was Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles. Cream milled about with her Chao Cheese, looking outlandishly cheerful in light of the upcoming battle.

Knuckles still boasted the black scar on his head from where Hades' blade had burned him, and subconsciously touched it often. Blaze and Silver suddenly stopped their conversation to see Rouge, Sonic, Tails, Shade, and Amy arriving. They, along with Knuckles and Cream, leapt over the barricades G.U.N. and the Black Arms had provided and ran towards them. Rouge quickly parked the motorcycle, and dismounted. Tails, and Amy got off the jeep and greeted their friends along with Sonic. Meanwhile, two G.U.N. soldiers and a Black Alien got in the jeep, and drove off to join a couple other patrolling jeeps. Shade only stood nearby the Mobians, his arms folded.

Rouge only nodded and briefly smiled at Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles in greeting, and patted Cream absent-mindedly on the head. She was worried about Shadow, obviously, but was constantly reminding herself of Shadow's powers, and the new weapon he had that could tear that shit-spawn of a foe to pieces. Still, Rouge wouldn't be satisfied until her beloved was in her arms again. Sighing, she approached colonel Maximus.

"Hey… what's the situation?" Rouge asked, trying not to sound worried about the said situation.

"Ah, glad you're back Agent Rouge" Maximus replied, and then suddenly frowned, looking around. "Um… where's Agent Shadow?" he asked.

Rouge swallowed a lump in her throat, cleared it, and replied; "The Lost Ones were in hot pursuit… Shadow attacked the closest one. The others momentarily stopped their pursuit, but I'm positive they chased after us, leaving only one to deal with Shadow." Rouge wasn't as positive as she sounded, but she had felt the Lost Ones approaching even after Shadow had attacked Xar, so there was merit, but also causes to worry.

Maximus nodded. "I hope he's okay…" he said softly. "Damn good soldier, and we could use his help right now. Still, I'm sure he'll be here shortly. Until then… well, our situation is well in hand for now. The Commander tells me the airplane fighters and bombers will be here in about fifteen minutes, which, as you know, are to break the blockade Black Fist says Mephiles will use to surround the city, and to help deal with the Lost Ones."

Rouge nodded, and turned around to face Shade, who still stood outside the circle of Mobians, his arms folded and his face hard and stoic. Rouge smiled, strongly reminded of Shadow.

Rouge still hadn't totally forgiven Shade the Echidna for the crimes he'd committed against them, but he had proved as loyal to them as he had been to Mephiles so far. And, though Rouge didn't like to admit it, Shade was pretty attractive; his young, powerful ruby-eyes, his bad-ass demeanor, his determination, and his coolness and overall aura of power.

Still… how can you trust a traitor, even if he betrays an evil cause for a good one? It makes one's loyalty seem fickle and fair-weathered. But then, that wouldn't explain why Shade turned against Mephiles right when the dark one was about to finally triumph onboard the starship Ovator had built.

Slowly, Rouge approached Shade, waving at him to get his attention. Shade snapped to look up at her, and Rouge smirked and winked in reply.

"So… what's it like, being on our side?" Rouge asked casually.

Shade was silent a moment, his arms still crossed. "Admittedly… better" Shade finally answered. "I still have much trust to gain, but being on this side… somehow, I _know _its right. I'm fighting to _defend_, not to attack, and that alone holds a moral value to me. When I worked with Mephiles, there was always this little, irksome doubt that told me that what I was doing didn't always sit right with me, but I shoved it to the back of my mind."

Shade sighed, and closed his eyes. "I realize now, that, had I listened to my heart, Mephiles wouldn't have controlled my mind. The heart, I now realize, determines who _you _are and what _you _believe. The mind can be persuaded by outside forces, but the heart is genuine and pure; it is what makes you what you are."

Rouge smiled softly. "Well-spoken, Shade" she said. Shade looked at her and –almost, but not quite – cracked a smile.

"Thank you, Agent Rouge" Shade said awkwardly. "I'll admit, it's strange to be on your side after fighting you for so long… but I hope to win my place and your trust in this battle."

Suddenly, a Black Arms soldier ran into the barricade, and confided with its superior in their native language. Then, the alien officer turned to face Maximus. "Sir, my scout reports that millions of Mephiles' monsters have surrounded the city, and are equipped with anti-armor and anti-infantry weapons."

"Mm. The plan is falling into place, and so far, the only flux is Shadow not being here. Well, he can get through the blockade; he's been through worse" Maximus said, forcing an even look. "Alright men! Defensive positions, NOW! I want all vehicles to patrol around this immediate area! Heavy-weapon specialists and turret-men, watch the skies!"

All the soldiers leveled their guns, and took defensive positions, the turrets were manned, and then they waited. Tension rapidly grew, and a feeling of dread washed over them all. The younger soldiers (mostly humans, but also a few Black Aliens) all looked around nervously, but the veterans didn't betray the fear they felt.

Suddenly, a black shape roared across the sky, and a moment later, Shade looked up and spoke so softly only Rouge and a few other nearby people heard; "Hades!"

"Hades?" Rouge asked. "Who's that? Isn't that a Greek god?"

Shade glanced over at Rouge with a serious expression. "He is Mephiles' second-in-command of both the Lost Ones, and his entire army" he said gravely. "Mephiles has taught him some dark secrets that have enhanced his power."

Rouge nodded, and looked up again just in time to see the dark blur in the sky – Hades, apparently- fly down towards them.

"Open fire!!" Maximus cried, and every single soldier complied, shooting all they had at the approaching Lost One. Shade also launched Chaos Spears, knowing they'd be more effective than all of the soldiers' guns. But Hades easily dodged all of the attacks, and dove down towards them.

"He's attempting an air-strike! _Move_! Retreat!!" Shade yelled at everybody. "Fall back!!" Soon, everybody was scrambling out of the way, some managing to detach a few gun-turrets and run off with them. But Hades still flew down, and fired several missiles, which sent out huge, blossoming explosions of black flame, killing over two dozen aliens, humans and mechs. Sonic and Knuckles were knocked from their feet and sent crashing to the ground, and Amy had a cut on her arm from some shrapnel (which she had shielded Cream from).

When the smoke cleared, everybody stumbled upon their feet, trying to get reoriented. G.U.N. soldiers hastily ran about, trying to figure out how they could reestablish their position. Silver used his powers to lift some rubble off of a few soldiers, and salvaged a gun-turret as well.

Sonic coughed a little, and brushed himself off, quickly mirrored by Knuckles, and they scanned the sky for any trace of Hades. But the Lost One was nowhere to be seen.

"Cowardly bastard…" Knuckles muttered, tightening his hands into fists. Sonic nodded. "Bad guys like to run, get you to chase them, and then turn around and hit you when you're charging at them and you least expect it" the blue hedgehog affirmed in disgust.

Suddenly, Colonel Maximus's wrist communicator went off. "_Air Squad Ab-243 Delta. This is G.U.N. frigate '_Starspeed', _do you copy? Over."_

Maximus looked relieved. "Copy. This is Colonel Maximus of Gamma Company. Damn good to hear from you Zackary, sir."

Vice-Admiral Zackary replied; _"I know you hog party-favors Colonel; I didn't want to be late. What's your position? We're at… 1.094 clicks southwest from Central City, over."_

"We're approximately .24 clicks from the President's house. Vice-Admiral, the Lost Ones have engaged us, but they are not defeated, repeat, the Lost Ones are still combat-efficient. Hold the capital ships for now sir, but go ahead and ready the fighters with Chaos-Powered missiles."

"_Roger that Colonel. Have Mephiles and his force-?"_ Before Zackary could finish the sentence, Maximus screamed and disappeared in a fiery explosion. Soon, another explosion landed, almost killing a few G.U.N. soldiers and knocking a Shadow Android down. Rouge turned in the direction from which the missiles had come from…

She, and everybody else, saw a massive Lost One standing about two blocks away from them. It was almost three times as tall as a human, and five times as bulky. Its arms were covered with a wide assortment of blades, ranging from blades the size of Omega's arm to ones about the size of a short-sword's blade, to needle-thick and thick as an idiot's head. It's head was a bit flat on the top, but it boasted two long, straight horns and a slightly-longer, twisted horn, and the green, menacing eyes were blazing with hate.

It was Devabrawn, the battle-tank of the Lost Ones.

The huge Lost One casually kicked aside an abandoned car near its foot, and fired a rapid-burst of small blades, which punctured a few Black Aliens. The blades then shattered once they impaled, causing gruesome damage and killing all but one alien (who had only caught a blade in the arm, but would probably never have a normal bicep again).

A Black Arms elite, being ranked a major and charged with leading the G.U.N., Black Arms and Eggman forces upon Maximus's death, stood up and took charge. "Everyone, take cover! Re-establish a position, _now! _Mobians, please, engage this monster! Try and take it down!"

Sonic gave his trademark thumbs-up. "No problem!" he said, and ran towards the Lost One. He was then followed by Knuckles, then Amy, then Omega, Rouge and Shade. Silver and Blaze, Tails and Cream began to run as well, but the Black Arms leader stopped them.

"I'm sorry, but at least one of you should stay here…" he said uncertainly. "We may get attacked by one of its brethren while you're gone. As for you two…" the Black Alien indicated Tails and Cream, "The rabbit needs protection, and should stay here for now, and the fox can help with that.

Blaze and Silver looked at each other, and Silver sighed, squeezing Blaze's hand.

"I'm not gonna be gone long. I'll never truly leave you" he said sincerely. Blaze smiled briefly at him, and squeezed his hand back, nodding. With that, Silver flew off to join the fight.

Cream looked disappointed, but accepted the command with a nod, and watched the fight with anxiety along Tails.

Devabrawn was now targeting the blue hedgehog who was so defiantly charging at him, firing missile after missile at the blue hedgehog. Soon, Sonic rolled up into a ball, and bounced himself down on one of the missiles. The explosion (safely) knocked Sonic a little higher in the air, and he used the momentum to use a chain of Homing Attacks on Devabrawn's missiles to get closer to the said Lost One.

Knuckles, meanwhile, had glided and finally landed on Devabrawn's back, and punched the Lost One upside the head. Devabrawn growled and reached for the irritating echidna, but Knuckles dodged it.

"An itch you can't scratch, huh pal?" Knuckles laughed, punching Devabrawn again. But this time, the Lost One snarled at the pain, and managed to grab Knuckles and fling him away.

Before Devabrawn could finish Knuckles, Omega arrived from behind the Lost One, and began firing with cannons that had been altered long ago to be capable of harming Mephiles and his kind. Devabrawn exchanged fire, which Omega dodged. While Devabrawn was distracted, Silver flew right over the Lost One, and dropped a destroyed metal-barricade on the Lost One's head. Devabrawn snarled and fired up at Silver, but the psychic hedgehog stopped the Lost One's barrage, and used his power to fire it right back at it. Devabrawn howled in pain and anger, falling onto his backside.

Just then, Sonic landed, and Amy was standing next to him. Together, Sonic slammed into the Lost One while Amy used her hammer. The combined force of their blows sent the Lost One flying about half of a block.

"Concentrate fire on that beast!" the Black Arms major yelled, and the G.U.N. soldiers, the Black Arms, and the Shadow Android fired upon Devabrawn. While the Lost One took the damage while struggling to stand, Rouge leapt up and jump-kicked the Lost One in the head while Shade the Echidna launched a Chaos Spear, hitting Devabrawn in the chest. The Lost One cried out, and crashed to the ground, and stopped moving, smoldering from the attack.

"Regroup!" the Black Alien leader cried, and all of the Mobians gathered nearer the entrenchment, watching Devabrawn carefully. Most of them had remembered the Lost One Izar had exploded when he died, and were surprised that Devabrawn had not. Still, maybe he was a unique case…

But then, the blue sky darkened, and the air grew a little colder. Everybody felt a sense of dread wash over them. Shade, who had grown used to this sensation, was the only one not confused by it.

He knew what it meant.

Mephiles was here.

Nearby, Mephiles the Dark landed on the ground with the impact of a cannon ball. He surveyed the scene, holding the Sword of Chaos in his right hand. He growled to himself softly- almost a purr. Then, moving past a building and into an intersection, he spotted his enemies.

"It's Mephiles, move out! Pull back!!" Shade cried, and he and the other Mobians ran back to G.U.N.'s newly-established position (all turrets were watching the sky intently). A G.U.N. jeep with a heavy-duty cannon mounted on it drove towards Mephiles, if only to draw him away from their allies. It fired a small missile encumbered with Chaos Energy, but Mephiles was only irritated by this. He aimed the Havoc Blade at the vehicle, and used its power to rapidly age the vehicle. Soon, the metal rusted, and the vehicle disintegrated with decay, dumping the passenger, gunner, and driver on the ground. They tried to stand up and fight, but they disappeared under a huge, devastating beam of white-hot energy that issued from the tip of the Sword of Chaos.

Mephiles glanced at Devabrawn's prone form, and would've smiled but for the lack of lips and a mouth: the Lost Ones were not so easily killed, as those fools would soon find out.

Meanwhile, Shade had everybody gathered together, and they began planning and coordinating with the Black Arms leader.

"The human air-combat machines are en route, but if we don't find and eliminate at least a few Lost Ones by then, they shall die" the Black Alien said grimly.

"I have an idea" Shade replied. "We should split into two teams. One could draw off the Lost Ones while the other stays here and helps you defend from any other Lost Ones. That way, once we've both eliminated a few, we can regroup and finish them more easily."

"But what about Mephiles?" Blaze asked. "He's easily the most powerful of them; I doubt any one of us could fight him alone."

"He won't fight us; he's saving his strength for Shadow" Rouge answered darkly. "Mephiles is waiting for him. He'll oversee the battle, but won't take part in it but to fight Shadow."

Shade nodded grimly. "That's true" he said. "Mephiles isn't a problem… not yet. But, as for the teams, a small yet efficient team would be sufficient to draw off three or four Lost Ones while the majority deals with the rest. I'll travel with that team; they've labeled me a traitor, and will hunt me down without remorse."

"I'll go with you, then" Rouge said. "Mephiles hates me a lot; he'll have no problem telling the Lost Ones to try and kick my ass. They'll consider me easy prey, too… should be fun to see how that plays out" she added mischievously.

"I SHALL TRAVEL WITH AGENT ROUGE" Omega stated. "WE COOPERATE WELL IN BATTLE AND CAN EASILY COORDINATE THROUGH TEAMWORK."

The Black Arms leader nodded, but still looked a little skeptical. "A good plan… but be careful, all three of you" he said. "The Lost Ones are-"

"Uh, sir?" one G.U.N. agent spoke up. "That… really fucking-huge Lost One is getting back up."

Everyone turned to see Devabrawn slowly getting to his feet, and rearming his arsenal of blade weapons. His eyes glowed menacingly.

"Do these things ever freaking _die?!_" Sonic muttered, clenching his fists.

But the situation got even worse.

Suddenly, several other dark shapes appeared in the sky, and landed at the tops of multiple buildings surrounding the G.U.N. position. Nadrina, Sparxan, Consumar, Hurratore, and Hades all looked down at them. Soon, Mephiles flew up to stand next to Nadrina, holding the Sword of Chaos like a scepter.

"Oh no… there's a… a lot of them" Amy said softly, hefting her hammer up.

The Black Arms leader turned to face Tails and Cream. "You two need to take shelter immediately" he said. "Go hide somewhere. _Now._"

"But… I can fight!" Cream said indignantly. "Let me help!"

"Yeah, Tails is cool too! He's a good fighter!" Sonic said, looking angrily at the Black Alien.

"I know the fox can fight, but the rabbit… not so much. Please, there is no time to argue" the Black Alien said. "The rabbit will need the fox's protection, and their youth makes them all the more important. Go! NOW!"

"Fine…" Tails muttered, and then exchanged a thumbs-up with Sonic. "Good luck Sonic!"

"You too pal!" Sonic replied. Knuckles smiled and nodded at Tails, and Amy rushed forth to hug Cream, telling her to be careful. And with that, Tails led Cream and her Chao to a building about two blocks away, and took her downstairs.

"Shade? You ready to move?" Rouge asked the black-and-crimson echidna. Shade nodded, and Omega and Rouge followed up behind him, and ran right in the middle of the street that contained the buildings on which most of the Lost Ones were perched on.

Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Silver, and Blaze took defensive positions within G.U.N.'s position, and prepared for the battle.

"Hey, Amy?" Sonic asked softly.

"Yes Sonic?" Amy replied, looking at her husband.

Sonic tightly grasped Amy's hand, and their eyes met. "Whatever happens, just remember… I'm really glad you never gave up on me" he said with a warm smile.

Amy smiled back, and swiftly kissed him.

Silver, meanwhile, took a deep breath and faced Blaze. "Ready to help me save the world again?" he asked with a smirk.

"Always have been, always will be" Blaze replied with a smirk of her own. "Your battles, whether in the past, present, or future, are _my_ battles."

Suddenly, Mephiles raised the Havoc Blade high in the air, and cried out in a voice that carried loudly to the ears of both ally and enemy:

"LOST ONES: ATTACK!!"

And the Battle for Central City began.

As G.U.N. began to fire upon Devabrawn, Shade's team began to run like hell. Omega turned back and fired homing-missiles back at the Lost One, which had a greater effect on Devabrawn than any of G.U.N.'s weaponry, even the missile-turrets. The other Lost Ones, meanwhile, were diving down and attacking Shade, Rouge, and Omega.

On the bright side, Shade's plan was working well… better than he'd hoped.

Which wasn't entirely a good thing.

In fact, Devabrawn seemed to be the _only _Lost One not interested in the three of them: Nadrina flew down and sprayed a wave of acid at them, and had been forced to give up only when Rouge had flown up, kicked her in the face, and then stuck a bomb to the female Lost One, giving the three of them time to gain some distance. But then, Sparxan had leapt down right in front of them, and had unleashed a surge of energy that had knocked Omega on his backside. Then the Lost One had leapt and attempted to skewer Shade on a blade-arm, but the echidna had rolled to dodge it, and then fired a Chaos Spear right into the Lost One's back. Then they kept running. But Hurratore and Nadrina soon resumed the chase.

Finally, just as Sonic and Knuckles were about to break cover and attack Devabrawn, Consumar blended into the shadow one skyscraper cast, literally becoming invisible. Then he leapt out and attacked them taking the blue hedgehog and crimson echidna completely by surprise. The two of them then charged Consumar, but the Lost One had fed off the blood of several fallen Black Arms and humans recently, and their blood now ran as powerful fuel inside him. Consumar easily met Knuckles' strength, and kicked the echidna aside and, even with his power, had trouble blocking Sonic's lightning-quick attacks. But Consumar eventually blasted the blue hedgehog down with a surge of energy, and would've impaled Sonic had Silver not picked Sonic and Knuckles up and bringing them to safety with his psychic powers while Blaze hurled a huge fireball at Consumar, knocking him down. But the Lost One quickly got back on his feet, and got up to aid Devabrawn again.

But even the darkest of moments yield to the light of renewed hope.

A loud noise was heard, and everyone turned to look and saw dozens of Mephiles' monsters flying through the air, and a few more running away. The cause of their plight was revealed afterwards.

A huge, golden wave of energy was plowing the monsters down, destroying dozens at a time. Several more tried to attack it from behind, but they too were destroyed once they neared it. Then, the golden power disappeared, and a cheer was raised when they saw who it was.

It was Shadow the Hedgehog, holding the dagger Dark Burner in his hands.

One of Mephiles' flying creatures tried to flee, but Shadow leapt up, grabbed it, and slammed it down on the top of one of the buildings. Then, Shadow spotted the one he looked forward to killing the most: Mephiles.

And Mephiles looked right back.

"Mephiles" Shadow said darkly, igniting Dark Burner's ultimate power and feeling himself grow stronger as well.

"Shadow" Mephiles growled, tightening his grip on the Sword of Chaos. Then, he leapt off the building he was standing on, and blasted off like a jet in Shadow's direction.

Shadow gritted his teeth, ran forward, and threw himself at Mephiles' form, seizing the dark one's arms. Mephiles punched Shadow in the face, which was returned by Shadow trying to slash Mephiles, but in all the confusion, only succeeded in bashing him across the face with the hilt. Mephiles tried to slash at Shadow in retaliation, but Shadow parried it, and kicked Mephiles off of him, and fired a Chaos Spear at his opponent as they fell. Mephiles' body melted itself into a slim blob-like form long enough to dodge the Chaos Energy, and then plunged into the ground while Shadow broke his fall with the fire from his shoes. When Mephiles hit the ground, it was like a mockery of a raindrop hitting a stone. The liquidly ooze soon reoriented itself, and Mephiles stood but a few meters away from Shadow. The dark being stole a glance at Dark Burner's blade of scarlet and gold fire.

"Ah… I see you have awakened that weapon's true power" Mephiles stated coolly. He shrugged. "It may… delay your death for some time, but nothing more. Had you discovered its power while we were on the Aero Fortress, perhaps you would've triumphed, but not now, not when I wield the Sword of Chaos!"

"It is not the weapon that matters" Shadow retorted, anticipating any move Mephiles might make. "It is the wielder, and the power that they put behind the weapon."

"True, but even the Ultimate Life Form cannot stand against _my _power!" Mephiles snarled. "I wield the fury of hell! My fist is punishment, my fires are the horrors of sin, my lies are truth, and to be touched by my blade is to be condemned! Your Chaos Powers, even amplified by your sword, cannot hope to top the power of the Lost Ones!"

Shadow smirked at Mephiles, a look that resembled – but only resembled - pity on his face. "You don't understand, and you probably never will" the ebony hedgehog said. "You fight for an empty cause: to rule over a universe filled with nothing but chaos and everlasting destruction. I fight for those I love: Rouge, my family, and for Maria and the promise I made to her! You'll never understand the power of the heart, Mephiles, because yours is corrupted and blackened to the point that it is not even a heart anymore!"

Mephiles' eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly. "You're right; I will not understand why you fight for _humans! _They're a corrupt race, and they _deserve_ to be destroyed! You of all people should know that, you fool! And if you stand with them, then you can _die _with them all!!" And with that, Mephiles' hand spat out a huge length of black ooze, which seized Shadow and threw him an entire block away. Then, Mephiles pointed the Sword of Chaos at Shadow, and prepared to fire a blast of energy.

But Shadow leapt to his feet again, and rushed towards Mephiles, firing a Chaos Spear as he went. Mephiles dodged this energy, and before Shadow could reengage him, Mephiles blasted Shadow with a surge of energy, which crashed the ebony hedgehog into a nearby building.

Groaning, Shadow fell to his knees, but bared his teeth, and continued the fight.

*Central City: With Shade, Rouge, and Omega*

At this time, the three Mobians were not having much luck with their plan.

Oh certainly, they were drawing them off well enough, but the Lost Ones constantly forced them to retreat before they could do more than put a boo-boo on one of them. Nadrina always sprayed the area with so much acid and noxious gas that the group would be fleeing before the poison killed them (for Omega it wasn't such a big deal, but he couldn't leave his two allies to stand for themselves). Sparxan was always flying down with a multi-tongued whip weapon, which spun around so fast it actually cut a car in two as he passed over them, barely missing their heads. Occasionally, the Lost One would torment them with scenarios and horrible nightmares to try and stop them in their tracks, but Shade and Rouge were able to fight through it by keeping their goals in mind and knowing that it was a trick (Omega was completely unaffected).

Hurratore was always heard before seen; a huge howl of wind would always signal his arrival, and torrents of energy capable of rending one apart always tore through the buildings in an attempt to slay them. Shade had Chaos-Controlled Rouge and Omega away from it countless times now, and once Rouge had cleverly thrown a bomb into Hurratore's torrents, and when the bomb was ripped apart, it exploded and knocked Hurratore down and let them escape.

But the Lost Ones were relentless: they did not have flesh-and-blood bodies, and while they could feel pain, they did not feel exhaustion. They never tired, and as long as Mephiles lived, they would serve him.

"Shade! I… just *pant* got word from *gasp* Sonic! Shadow's *pant* here!" Rouge gasped as they ran on.

"Really?!" Shade said, not sure what to make of this news. Obviously, it was a huge help; while wielding Dark Burner, Shadow was the most powerful of any of them. Plus, his survival meant that the Lost One Xar was dead. On the other hand…

If Mephiles defeated Shadow, then the Dark One himself would join the fight, and they would all die.

Suddenly, they looked up to see Hades descending upon them. The Lost One crashed to the ground, making an explosion of dark fire as he did. Rouge rolled to one side to dodge the flames, and found a gun that a G.U.N. soldier had dropped; one of the ones capable of harming the Lost Ones, if only slightly.

"Damn it!" Shade cursed as he got up after the explosion knocked him down, but as soon as he did, Hades blasted him back down with a surge of energy. Omega started to fire at the Lost One, but Hades sent a black fireball that blasted the E-123 model down, temporarily overloading Omega's heat-sensors and blinding him for a bit, but then he switched to audio-receptors, and quickly sprayed Hades with his own Chaos-sparked flamethrower.

Rouge rushed the Lost One from the back. Hades – while still firing at Shade and Omega with one arm – drew one of his fiery blades and slashed at Rouge, who quickly ducked under it, and then backflipped, kicking Hades in the process and making the Lost One lose his balance, allowing Omega and Shade to both get a good hit in.

But then, Nadrina spotted the fight, and flew down, spraying acid like a hideous rain their way.

"Omega, Shade; fire Chaos at that bitch!" Rouge shouted. Shade turned and fired a Chaos Spear, and then quickly drew his claws and engaged Hades in close-combat. Omega fired one of his main rocket-missiles, and then unloaded a whole clip of smaller missiles around his wrist.

While Nadrina was hit by several of these attacks, she snarled when she saw Rouge flying rapidly towards her. Nadrina drew her blade and slashed at the ivory bat, but Rouge grabbed Nadrina's arm, and flung her away. And, while Nadrina's body still glowed from the heat of Shade's Chaos attacks and Omega's missiles, Rouge did her famous Screw-Attack kick, which tore right through the Lost One's softened body.

Nadrina's body was literally cut in half.

The Lost One made a soft wheezing noise, and then fell to the ground, and her remains exploded.

When Hades saw this, he roared at Shade, and increased the speed of his attack to superhuman-like. Eventually, he wore down Shade's defenses enough to find an opening and kick the echidna in the chest. Before Omega could help, Hades leapt back in the air, and blasted at jet-speed at Omega. The impact smashed Omega so bad the mech had a whole arm torn off, and was smashed into a nearby building.

"Omega!!" Rouge cried, landing and running towards her mechanical friend. "You alright?"

"ER… ERROR; LEFT ARM-CANNON WEAPONS NOT FOUND IN INVENTORY. UPDATE: DESTROY INFURIATING L-LOST *_Crackle*_ LOST ONE" Omega stated fuzzily, as if waking up from unconsciousness.

Rouge smirked: even losing a limb didn't dampen Omega's resolution.

Shade groaned from pain, and walked over to them. "Is he alright?" the echidna asked.

Rouge nodded. "He lost his arm, but it's repairable, and he can still fight, but only from a fixed, defensible position. I'm going to take him back to the G.U.N. soldiers."

"But what about the Lost Ones?" Shade asked, a little distraught at the idea of his plan failing.

"We killed one, and I'm willing to bet the others are more concerned with Shadow now" Rouge asked. "Mephiles just wants to land the killing blow on him; he doesn't mind a little help. And I know for sure that at least one other is helping that huge one-"

"That'd be Devabrawn" Shade confirmed.

"Whatever. But they need help; if we just keep running around, we won't be any good. I'll take Omega back to help the others and to try and get him repaired."

"What about me?" Shade asked.

Rouge looked at Shade so fiercely she might as well have glared. "You're going to go save my husband's ass" she said. "And for your sake you better go _now._"


	19. Serenity and Serenity's Bane

**Chapter Eighteen: Serenity and Serenity's Bane **

*With Miles Tails Prower and Cream the Rabbit (along with Cheese the Chao)*

Tails was feeling incredibly helpless right now.

And if there was one thing he hated, it was feeling helpless.

The young fox was pacing the underground room he and Cream were in. They could hear multiple explosions outside, mostly from G.U.N.'s battle with Devabrawn and Consumar. It was infuriating; it was impossible to tell who was winning the fight. He could occasionally hear a faint scream (which usually meant one of Devabrawn's blades that exploded shortly after stabbing an enemy were being used), and it made him run his hands through the fur on his face, growling softly in frustration…

His friends were out there, for crying out loud! _Without _him, in the middle of one of the most important battles they'd ever fought! And Tails was stuck here, with Cream, being totally useless!

"Tails? You okay?" Cream asked softly. "You seem kinda anxious…"

"Well yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Tails muttered. "We're being treated like poor defenseless babies, and they need us! We can fight! Heck, even Cheese is a good fighter!"

"Chao!" Cheese said with a firm, agreeing nod.

"I know Tails, this stinks…" Cream said sadly. "I'm… I'm worried about Amy and Mr. Sonic and the others…"

"Yeah, me too Cream…" Tails said with a sigh. He stomped his foot on the floor, and picked up his electric-pulse-firing gun, which he had first used when they had all found Emerl the Gizoid several years ago, and had used it more recently when they had all assaulted Mephiles' starship.

He wished he could be using it right now.

But, reflecting on it, what could they do to help? The Lost Ones were powerful, and if Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and everybody else hadn't taken down the ones up there, what could he and Cream (who _could _fight, but not even as proficiently as Tails could) possible do to help?

Still, Tails had to do _something,_ or he'd go mad.

Then, suddenly, he had an idea…

He and Cream _could _make a difference, if they were smart about it.

Luckily, Tails was officially a genius fox.

"Cream! Do you see that place over there?" Tails said, pointing. The young rabbit nodded. "It's part of the underground subway" Tails went on. "We can use it to get through the sewers, get behind the Lost Ones, and flank them!"

"Really?!" Cream said, excitement flashing in her big, luminous eyes. But some fear crept into her features. "But, they're so mean and dangerous… what are we going to do?"

"I'm not sure… but I'm coming up with a plan right now!" Tails said with certainty. "Follow me; I'll have one before we get there."

*Central City: With Shadow the Hedgehog*

If Shadow ever in his lifetime got to write a dictionary, he would put 'Mephiles' in as a synonym for 'pain-in-the-ass'.

Mephiles' power with the Sword of Chaos was unmatched: Shadow had never fought a foe as powerful as this. At least, not when he wasn't in Super-form.

Mephiles shot out blasts of energy that shattered skyscrapers like a child destroying Legos with a baseball bat. Shadow's speed, strength, and Chaos Powers – even amplified as they were by Dark Burner – were barely enough to continue the conflict. And Mephiles' powers that he'd had before acquiring the Havoc Blade were greatly enhanced.

Shadow leapt high in the air, just as Mephiles did. When they met, they both cried out ferociously as their blades clashed with a sound that rang throughout the city. After they passed each other through the air, Shadow spun around to face Mephiles and fired a spray of Chaos Lances out of Dark Burner as easily as he could shoot a Chaos Spear from his hand. Mephiles gestured with the Havoc Blade, and at his command, a huge, gaping maw of dark energy opened up and swallowed the deadly energy.

Mephiles was getting stronger.

Shadow continued to fight on, though; he knew that if Mephiles was defeated, then his massive armies and the Lost Ones wouldn't matter anymore: without his power and leadership, many of the monsters wouldn't be able to sustain their own presence, and those that did would live only if at least one of the Lost Ones survived. And if more than one Lost One survived, they would fight each other for leadership. By the time the battle would be over, only a tiny fraction of Mephiles' armada would live.

Then again, as long as one Lost One lived, they were all in danger. Only by wiping them and Mephiles out would the planet be safe.

Every single living warrior under G.U.N., Eggman, the Black Arms, and Mobius were all going to convene at Guardkaku, the ultimate fortress, to prepare for Mephiles' main attack, Shadow reflected. This battle in Central City was primarily for wiping out most or all of the Lost Ones so they couldn't spearhead the assault on the army. This way, they could defeat the Lost Ones without dealing with Mephiles' standard troops at the same time.

And, if they defeated Mephiles here and now, all the better.

But that didn't look like it was going to happen at this moment.

Mephiles launched an enormous blast of Chaos Energy from the Sword of Chaos whilst blasting an inferno of black fire out of his other hand, hoping to trap Shadow with one attack and destroy him with the other.

"Humans don't deserve to live!" Mephiles snarled. "They have been tainted with evil since birth, even your most self-righteous humans!!"

"Even the evil ones deserve a chance for redemption, fuck-head!" Shadow yelled back, deflecting the Chaos energy with Dark Burner and then warping away from the blast of dark fire.

"Redemption?! So that they may yet live to commit further heinous acts?! FOOL! The only solution is to erase all of this, _all _of it, until there is nothing left to be evil!" Mephiles shouted, slithering over and reforming himself in front of Shadow so fast the hedgehog barely blocked the blow from the Havoc Blade, which Shadow could hear literally humming with power.

"The Creator of all life banished me to a life of misery and damnation. So I shall erase all He creates, all He loves and protects…" Mephiles whispered, and a green fire burst from his eyes that blasted Shadow into the nearest building.

"…until His hands are drenched in blood" Mephiles finished, and resumed the blade-to-blade combat.

*Central City: With Sonic the Hedgehog, Amy Rose, Knuckles the Echidna, Silver the Hedgehog, and Blaze the Cat: G.U.N./Black Arms fortification*

The battle was going horrible.

Now that Nadrina was destroyed, the Lost Ones had decided to come together and destroy the encampment of human, alien, Mobian, and (in Eggman's forces' case) mechanical enemies. Now Devabrawn, Consumar, Hurratore, and Sparxan were all attacking their hapless foes without mercy. Hades, meanwhile, was searching for Shade, Rouge, and Omega, who had apparently split up.

Occasionally, Silver and Blaze would unite their powers and stave off the attacks long enough for Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy to rush in and engage Sparxan, Hurratore, and Consumar. G.U.N. and the Black Arms and the few remaining Shadow Androids would try to find the best cover they could and fire all at once at Devabrawn. But Sparxan would always rapidly project horrible scenarios and nightmares into Sonic, Amy, and Knuckles' head, and Hurratore would blast them all back, and Consumar would rush in to hold off Silver and Blaze before they could do anything more.

The battle continued, and slowly, humans, aliens, and robots died.

Once they were all dead, there'd be nothing to stop the Lost Ones from moving in and crushing the Mobians.

Silver picked up an armed missile (sparked with artificial Chaos Energy), and hurled it with his powers into the mass of Lost Ones, spraying them all with lethal energy. Sparxan and Consumar, who had taken the brunt of it, took cover behind Devabrawn. The huge Lost One, while he had been hit many times, took much more Chaos Energy to kill than most of his brethren. His wounds slowly healed, and by the time they were hit again, he barely felt it.

Soon, Sparxan and Consumar healed up again, and they fired surges of energy at their enemies, sending a few soldiers flying dozens of meters into the sky. Devabrawn had practically destroyed the entire area they were in, and was getting ready to unleash a bomb-like attack that would level every building in a 500-yard radius.

"Sonic!" the Black Arms C.O. shouted. "We need to move to an area that'll provide us with more cover! Can you hold them awhile?!"

"Sure thing!" Sonic shouted back with a thumbs-up. "Just cover us a few more seconds…"

But suddenly, Consumar cried out in pain as something blasted into him from the back. His body sizzled from the back, indicating he'd been hit by Chaos Energy.

Sparxan turned back to see what it was that had attacked…

And he saw Miles Prower and Cream the Rabbit with Cheese the Chao.

Before Sparxan could even say a word, Consumar shoved past him, growling viciously, and charged the two young Mobians.

"Cheese, get him!!" Cream shouted, pointing at Consumar. Cheese glared at the incoming Lost One, and shouted: "CHAO-CHAO!!" With that, the brave, little blue Chao flew right at Consumar, and smashed into his head.

The impact knocked Consumar off of his feet as Cheese continuously blew off and bashed into him. Consumar flailed his arms about in an effort to kill the blue creature, but to no avail.

Sparxan was about to aid his brother, when Knuckles and Amy attacked him in unison, sending the Lost One flying and crashing through a nearby building. Devabrawn, meanwhile, had just been knocked flat on his back by a powerful Homing-Attack to the head from Sonic.

Finally, Consumar seized Cheese, and threw the little Chao off of him. Consumar was about to slay the little creature when Tails suddenly flew into him, bashing him with his strong, high-velocity tails (ha, ha). Consumar snarled in hate, and kicked Tails with amazing strength, sending him crashing into a bolted-down mailbox so hard the mailbox was de-bolted and crashed. Cream then smashed into Consumar, flew in the air using her huge ears, and kicked Consumar. Though she was young, her Mobian strength was still potent enough to send Consumar flying about ten meters to land roughly on the street.

"Take that you awful monster!" Cream cried, but Consumar suddenly blasted Cream high into the air with a surge of energy. She smashed into a building, and moaned in pain as she began to fall…

But Tails jumped up and caught her gently. Then, they turned their attention back to the vicious, parasitic Lost One. Consumar formed a stone-blade on his right arm, and charged them.

"Cream, flank him!" Tails whispered, drawing his electric-pulse gun, and shooting Consumar dead-on in the head. The Lost One slowed his charge from the blow, but roared in rage and charged on. Tails got two more shots in, and just as Consumar was going to skewer him with his blade…

Cream and Cheese seized Consumar by the head, and flung him across the street. Without hesitating, Tails fired his gun again and again at the Lost One…

But the blaster overheated.

Sensing the pause in the attack, Consumar forced himself onto his legs, and charged at them again.

"Tails! Think of something quick!" Cream squealed. Tails looked at his gun which was hot to the touch, knowing that it contained a good deal of Chaos Energy, and glanced at the charging Lost One, who was glowing from the heat of Tails' previous blasts.

Then, Tails smiled, and hurled the gun with all his strength right at Consumar.

The blaster hit, and the explosion knocked Cream and Tails off their feet. When they looked at Consumar, he was on fire, slowly melting…

But alive.

"Y-YOU!!!" Consumar roared. "Y-You…. DIE!!!" And he was about to rise up for one final attack, and now Cream and Tails were defenseless…

But then, Cheese the Chao flew right through Consumar's soft-as-tissue head, and landed on Cream's shoulder.

Then the three of them watched as Consumar's remains bubbled up, and exploded.

"Yes!!" Tails cried, and he tightly embraced Cream, grinning. "We did it!!"

"Chao! Chao-Chao!" Cheese cried in shared joy, hovering off of Cream with his wings.

Cream giggled and returned the hug. "We sure did, Tails!" she said happily. "Mother will be so proud! Come on, we still need to help the others!"

"You're right, let's move!" Tails agreed, and they took off to join Sonic and the others.

*Central City: With Shade the Echidna*

The red-and-black echidna was now running as fast as he could, seeking out the place where Shadow was battling. Between the noises Devabrawn's brawl with the Mobians, G.U.N. and the others, and Hades' vengeful attempts to destroy as much of the city as possible while searching for him, it was difficult to distinguish which noises would indicate where Shadow was fighting.

Suddenly, he heard the roaring-noise of Hades' approach. He quickly dove into a nearby building, and ran for the back of it, and ducked behind a counter. In the back of his mind, he noticed he was in a television store.

"COME ON OUT, VERMIN!!" Hades shouted, spraying several missiles out of his arm. The explosion blew in all the glass in the building Shade was in and destroying about twelve others across the street. "FIGHT ME, PRINCE OF TRAITORS!!" Hades yelled again. He then drew one of his flame-ridden blades, and sprayed all the buildings to his left with black fire. The flames were ten-times hotter and more intense than normal fire, and was impossible to put out with normal water. Hades shot one missile directly at the store Shade was hiding in, destroying every single television on display and sending a 24' flat screen shattering onto the counter that Shade hid behind. The echidna slowly drew his claws. He didn't have time to fight Hades, but if the Lost One found him, a brawl was inevitable.

And if he killed Hades quickly and still got to Shadow, all the better.

But Hades seemed convinced that Shade, had he been hiding here, would've revealed himself by now. So the Lost One blasted off into the sky to look elsewhere. Shade wiped a bit of sweat off of his forehead, and quickly walked out of the shop. Then, he resumed his search.

Suddenly, he hard a huge explosion that he recognized: somebody had used Chaos Blast.

Shadow was near, and so was his old master, Mephiles.

*Central City: With Rouge the Bat and E-123 Omega*

Rouge (who was carrying Omega's detached arm) and Omega could finally see where G.U.N. had set up their latest holding position. Devabrawn was still shooting the hell out of them, and Hurratore and Sparxan were right there with him, forcing back anybody who tried to directly engage them (usually Sonic and Knuckles).

Not too surprisingly, Rouge noticed Tails and Cream among them.

That kid had about as much guts as he did brains, Rouge reflected with a smirk.

"ALERT: LOST ONES HAVE THE ADVANTAGE" Omega suddenly stated. "THEY HAVE MORE FIREPOWER THAN THE BLACK ALIENS AND G.U.N. RECOMMEND WE EVEN THE ODDS WHILE WE HAVE THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE."

"Yeah… but it's too risky, Omega" Rouge replied. "You only have one gun-arm. I don't want to put you at risk."

Omega faced her, and as ridiculous as it sounds, Rouge could almost see skepticism in his red-light eyes. "RISK? CORRECTION: RISK IS SOMETHING WE DO NOT USUALLY WORRY ABOUT. WHY START NOW?" Omega amended.

Rouge had to smile at that. "Ah… alright, we'll do things your way" she said. "Any bright ideas?"

"AFFIRMATIVE: WE FLANK THE LOST ONES. I WILL FIRE UPON THE LARGE ONE CALLED DEVABRAWN. WHILE I DO SO, YOU ENGAGE THE SMALLER LOST ONES SPARXAN AND HURRATORE. WHILE WE HAVE THEM DISTRACTED, SONIC, KNUCKLES, AMY, AND THE OTHERS CAN ATTACK THEM MORE SUCCESSFULLY FROM THE FRONT, AND THE LOST ONES WILL BE OVERWHELMED."

Rouge nodded. "Simple, but it makes sense" she admitted. "Alright, I'll just have to be careful with your lost arm. Let's move!!"

So they did. Devabrawn was still relentlessly blowing up G.U.N. and Black Arms forces. Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Silver, Blaze, and even Tails and Cream were exhausted, covered in soot, and they had at least one cut each. They would have to move again soon if something didn't happen; there was barely anything that hadn't been reduced to useless rubble by Devabrawn's barrage. So long as Sparxan and Hurratore watched his back, nobody was going to do anything.

Suddenly, Hurratore used his manipulation over the air to send a cloud of debris flying right at his foes. Knuckles jumped in and smashed the bigger bits of debris away and Silver froze the rest and threw it back (to little avail).

"We're not getting _anywhere_!" Sonic yelled out, wiping some dirt from his sweaty face. "Damn, I wish-"

But suddenly, they saw Devabrawn reel from an explosion to his back, and they all saw E-123 Omega- with only one arm- firing at the weapon-toting Lost One.

"RESUME FIRING!!!" the Black Arms commander screamed, and everybody fired non-stop at Devabrawn, now that his attention was elsewhere. Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Tails and Blaze all leapt to engage Sparxan and Hurratore while Silver assisted in trying to damage Devabrawn.

Sparxan turned to see Knuckles running at him, and blasted the echidna aside casually with a burst of energy. Amy charged at him right then, but Sparxan slammed his fist into the ground and unleashed a blast of fire right at the pink hedgehog. Amy rolled to the side to dodge it, and threw herself at Sparxan. But before she could make contact, the Lost One drew his multi-whip weapon and swiftly spun it around to knock her hammer out of her hands.

But then, Rouge the Bat flew down in a dive-kick and smashed Sparxan's face dead-on into the ground. Rouge quickly helped Amy up, and looked to see Sonic and Blaze dealing with Hurratore.

Hurratore had a shield of flames around him now, which Blaze was trying to punch through (as she was almost completely immune to burns). Sonic then had an idea that he'd seen in a movie once. The blue hedgehog started to run faster and faster in a circle around Hurratore, actually creating a small vacuum with his velocity and sucking up the oxygen.

No oxygen, no fire.

Hurratore's shield quickly died off, but as soon as it did, he drew a blade and slashed at Blaze. The warrior cat leapt out of the way of Hurratore's blade, and then spun around and kicked him. While the Lost One was in the ground, Sonic body-slammed him in his rolled-up form and drilled Hurratore into the ground. Then, Amy and Knuckles slammed hammer and fist together in a sandwich, completely crushing Hurratore's head flat.

Then, the Lost One keeled over and exploded.

Devabrawn, meanwhile, wasn't doing too good either.

He was being hammered from both sides by dozens of weapons. Even with just one arm, Omega still had quite an arsenal. And now that Hurratore was dead, Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy started attacking the Lost One as well while Rouge and Blaze held off Sparxan.

Devabrawn snarled at this and, trying to ignore the pain he felt, he kicked at the Mobians around him and shook Knuckles off of him like a dog. But while Knuckles was falling, he punched Devabrawn dead in the center of his chest. Omega noticed the wound the red echidna made, and fired a long energy-beam attack (similar to a Chaos Lance) at it. But Devabrawn stepped out of the way, and his chest only received a glancing blow from Omega's attack.

Blaze, meanwhile, noticed the wound as well, and while Rouge held off Sparxan, she made her move. Blaze leapt up, and used her fire powers to launch herself like a drill into Devabrawn's chest.

Blaze immediately jumped out, and noticed a huge, glowing-hot hole in the huge Lost One's chest.

Devabrawn clutched feebly at the wound, and fell over onto a damaged building. Everybody backed away just at the Lost One's huge body exploded.

But Sparxan didn't stick around when he noticed the battle was now going horribly wrong. He kicked Rouge out of the way, leapt into the air, and took off.

"That's right; run you little bitch!!" Sonic yelled after Sparxan, holding his middle finger up at the fleeing Lost One.

Blaze brushed her shirt off, and smiled slightly at Rouge and Omega. "Nice timing, you two" she said. "If you'd gotten here much later, it might not have mattered by then. Thanks a lot."

"AFFIRMATIVE. WE ARE SIMPLY FOLLOWING SEARCH-AND-DESTROY PROTOCOLS, NO MATTER HOW FUN THEY MIGHT BE" Omega replied.

Rouge patted Omega's broad metallic shoulder. "No problem, guys" she said to Blaze and the others. "When trouble's around, we're usually not too far behind.

"Where's Shade?" Silver asked. "Didn't he go with you to draw the other Lost Ones off?"

"He did, but I sent him off to go help Shadow battle Mephiles" Rouge replied. "We destroyed a Lost One, by the way. Nadrina, I think was its name."

"Excellent!" the Black Arms commander said, stepping down from the barricade he'd been behind. "And we just took out Devabrawn, Hurratore, and Consumar as well…"

"You did?" Rouge interrupted. "Good work, guys! How'd you do it? I mean, no offense, but you seemed kind of at a standstill until we came along."

"Uh, well…" here, the Black Arms commander's demeanor grew embarrassed. "Well, it would seem I, ah, underestimated Mr. Prower's and Miss Cream's fighting prowess. They teamed up and eliminated Consumar not far from here. And Miss Cream's Chao helped out too, I hear."

"Chao-Chao!" Cheese replied enthusiastically, flexing an arm for show. Cream laughed at this and patted her Chao on the head.

"So, Nadrina, Devabrawn, Consumar, and Hurratore have been destroyed. You defeated Izar back in the ancient temple, and Shadow killed Xar on the way here…" the Black Alien leader said thoughtfully. "That just leaves Sparxan, Hades, Bane, and Mephiles himself! Where is Bane, however? He have no reports of him engaging anyone in this battle…"

"Probably chickened out" Knuckles scoffed. "'Bane', oh, what an _original _name! Give me a break, he's probably his _own _bane if anything."

"He's a deadly warrior who killed thousands of Black Arms civilians and soldiers many years ago before you were born, echidna" the Black Arms commander said coolly. "My own great-grandfather died facing him, and need I remind you he has killed plenty of your human allies as well. He is not to be underestimated: he must be hunted down with extreme caution and prejudice!"

"AGREED" Omega said eagerly as two G.U.N. agents were busy trying to re-attach his arm. "COMBAT IS LOVELY, BUT THE STALKING OF A DESTRUCTABLE TARGET IS PREFERABLE IF THE TARGET PROVIDES SOME MEASURE OF THREAT."

"He has _'lovely_' in his vocabulary?!" Sonic murmured in shock to Amy, who chuckled a little.

"So… what now?" Tails asked, holding a new blaster G.U.N. had given him (and he had modified). "Are we going to hunt down the last Lost Ones, or help Shadow?"

"Both" Rouge said with authority. "Omega and I will head for Shadow: we have Shade's coordinates on my communicator. He's probably almost found Shadow by now. The rest of you, stay close and get ready to attack Hades or Sparxan or whatever else you can while Omega, Shade, Shadow and I try and take down Mephiles. Commander? Where is the air-support we were promised?"

"The first wave will be running a strafing run on the ranks of Mephiles' monsters that have up trapped here, particularly their anti-air defenses" the Black Alien leader replied. "They should be here in about one minute. The second and third waves are dedicated to attacking the Lost Ones. The fourth and fifth will continue to assault the monsters that have us trapped. Then, they'll send ships to pick us up and head to Guardkaku, the fortress of G.U.N."

"But if we defeat Mephiles and the Lost Ones, would that really be necessary?" Silver asked. "I mean, without his power and that of the Lost Ones, his army wouldn't be able to sustain itself, and it would crumble. We could easily hunt down the other Lost One Mephiles didn't bring and destroy him. Then, his army would be completely annihilated, and all the civilians we evacuated can go home!"

"Yeah! It'd be almost like nothing happened!" Tails said cheerfully.

"Easier said than done" Rouge said seriously. "So let's make it happen! C'mon people, Shadow needs help!"

*Central City: One minute later; with Shadow the Hedgehog*

The battle with Mephiles was, at the moment, a stalemate.

A stalemate which, Shadow reflected with frustration, was an improvement from how the battle had been going earlier.

Even with Dark Burner's power, the ebony hedgehog was truly no match for Mephiles' wrath when he wielded Serenity's Bane. So, to compensate for that, Shadow used his head. One of the first things G.U.N. had taught him was that the brain was truly an agent's greatest weapon. It helped one strategize, analyze enemies for weaknesses, memorize the attack patterns and find an opening, think about what the best course of action to take would be. Shadow was able to counter Mephiles' moves, counterattack, and feign attacks so he could land the real attack while Mephiles was distracted.

But of course, Mephiles used his mind as well, which proved to be quite powerful.

The dark being soon picked up on Shadow's feints, counters, and dodges. He was able to draw Shadow into using false attacks and then not take the bait, and he'd be ready for Shadow's real attack.

It was like chess, using strategy over brute force, luring the enemy pieces into traps. Only the pieces were white-hot blasts of energy, flashing, fiery blades, fists, whips, and explosions.

Now, nobody was getting anywhere. The two powerful beings were locked in deadly combat, and it looked like it might last until Central City was nothing but rubble.

Shadow backflipped on top of a car, and blasted several Chaos Spears at Mephiles. The dark being dodged it, but it gave Shadow time to retreat to the top of a nearby building, giving him the higher ground. Shadow sliced off a huge chunk of cement, and used Chaos Control to freeze time long enough for him to send the cement flying at Mephiles' frozen form.

Unfortunately, the Sword of Chaos was so powerful it shattered the time-slowing field Shadow had created. Mephiles slashed the falling debris so that it shattered into a million pebbles, and flew up at Shadow.

The ebony hedgehog smirked, and waited.

At the last possible second, Mephiles lashed out with both the Sword of Chaos and a stone blade on his left arm. But by the time half that second had elapsed, Shadow warped away, and with just .20 of a second to spare, he fired a Chaos Lance dead-on into Mephiles' back, blasting the dark being into a wall on the upper-building that had stairs that led down into the building.

While Mephiles was recovering, Shadow moved in quickly, and briefly overwhelmed Mephiles with lightning-quick slashes which were fueled by Shadow's vigor at gaining the upper hand. Finally, Shadow found an opening in Mephiles' parries, and took it, slashing the dark being so hard the blow knocked him flying a few meters away.

But Shadow made a crucial mistake: if you keep your eyes solely on the king during chess, you may forget that there are other pieces that will stop at nothing to save the king. So, Shadow failed to notice Hades fly by and land on the top of a building across the street from where he was.

Mephiles leapt up to attack Shadow again, but Shadow had adrenaline going through him, thinking that the battle might finally end here and now. The ebony hedgehog dodged Mephiles' lash with his whip, blocked the Sword of Chaos, and then kicked the weapon out of the dark being's hands so that it clattered away from him. He dove for it and grabbed it.

But just as Shadow was about to go after him, he heard a screaming noise tear the air, and turned to see a black, fiery missile coming from Hades' direction right at him.

The missile hit the building, and it sent Shadow flying to crash into the same wall he had crashed Mephiles into.

The ebony hedgehog groaned as he rose to his feet, but Mephiles was upon him immediately. The dark being seized Shadow by the throat, and slammed him repeatedly into the wall, and then tossed him to the ground, and stepped on the hand that still grasped Dark Burner.

"This has been a most enthralling duel, Shadow" Mephiles said, grudgingly but sincerely. "Truly, I doubt any of my brethren could survive a one-on-one encounter with you, not even Hades. But even though you are the strongest of my foes, I am the strongest of my kind, and you cannot best me. This will be over shortly, Shadow. The end is nearing."

"Not _our _end, but _yours_!" Shadow snarled. "Shade is still out there, and so are millions of men and women who oppose you! They can defeat you!"

Mephiles chuckled at that. "It is a marginal chance you speak of Shadow, and you know it" he replied. "Certainly, Shade can wield the power of Chaos, and your allies are certainly competent enough to do serious damage to my armada's numbers, and even the Lost Ones. However, none of them can wield Dark Burner, and only that weapon can give one the strength to even face me without fear of total defeat. Or perhaps not. No matter Shadow, I have serious questions for you now."

"Fuck you! I'm not telling you anything!!" Shadow snarled, fire blazing in his red eyes at the being he hated most in the world.

"Indeed. I doubt painful interrogation would gain me your true cooperation: your will is too strong. Perhaps a reward?" Mephiles mused.

"You're an idiot! You have _nothing_ to offer me!!" Shadow spat.

"It's only one question Shadow, now listen!" Mephiles growled softly but coldly. "I need the Master Emerald! Where is it?!"

"Why do you need it?! You've got a powerful enough source of Chaos power right there!" Shadow growled, as if he thought Mephiles was a complete dumbass.

"I need to rip a hole through space and time to reunite with Iblis, the Flames of Disaster, as he no longer exists in this dimension" Mephiles answered. "As you know, the first time I returned, I required most of the Chaos Emeralds _and _the Master Emerald to do so. If I have the Master Emerald and the Havoc Blade, it shall be more than equivalent. Now, tell me where it is, and I shall let _your family_ live!"

Shadow's eyes narrowed into deathly, fiery slits as he glared into Mephiles' eyes.

He knew that if he and Rouge and Luna all died, they'd be beyond Mephiles' grasp, and he would kill them anyway once he and Iblis reunited.

Besides, Rouge and Luna were both beyond Mephiles' grasp at the moment.

"KISS. MY. ASS!!" Shadow growled, and spat on Mephiles' face. A low growl emanated from Mephiles, and he suddenly hefted Shadow off of the ground.

"Have it your way, then!" Mephiles growled, and threw Shadow off of the building, and then propelled him with a surge of energy.

Then, Shadow began to fall fifteen stories towards the street, completely disoriented.


	20. All Hail Shadow

**Chapter Nineteen: "All Hail Shadow"**

Shadow was less than a minute away from dying, and there was nothing he could do about it.

He continued to fall head-over-heels down to the street. The black hedgehog tried to reorient himself, but between the way he was falling and the pain he felt and his exhaustion from fighting Mephiles, it was nearly impossible.

But suddenly, a strong hand grasped his wrist.

Shadow shook off the dizziness, and looked to see Shade the Echidna holding him while clinging to the wall of the building.

"You alright?" Shade asked, looking up to see Mephiles looking back at them.

"Yes… I've been better, but yeah, I'm fine" Shadow replied. Shade nodded, and looked back up to see Mephiles dive off towards them.

"Listen: Rouge is just on the opposite building. I'll throw you to her while I hold off Mephiles, okay?" Shade said. Shadow nodded, and even now, he could see Rouge climbing the building across from them.

Shadow rolled up into a ball, and Shade tossed him as hard as he could towards Rouge. Then the black and red echidna leapt upwards at his old master, and fired a Chaos Spear at him.

"Greetings, my _master_!!" Shade snarled.

"TRAITOR!!" Mephiles roared. "I SHALL STAIN THIS WRETCHED WORLD WITH YOUR BLOOD!!" and with a gesture from the Havoc Blade, Shade was sent free-falling down at the ground at two hundred miles per hour. But since the echidna was going down head first, he merely drew his claws, and drilled downwards to almost completely break the fall. Mephiles snarled in fury at this.

Meanwhile, Rouge had finally caught Shadow, and they now held each other across from their foe.

"Oh Shadow…" Rouge murmured, and sharply kissed her lover. Shadow pulled Rouge into it, but broke the kiss briefly.

"Not now Rouge, we're kinda busy right now" Shadow stated, unaware that he was caressing Rouge's cheek.

The ivory bat chuckled. "That's all you have to say after being separated by a god-awful battle for nearly five hours and after I helped save your life?" she teased. But Shadow's eyes suddenly widened.

"Rouge, c'mon!!" he shouted, and suddenly pulled Rouge off the wall and they continued their fall. And not a moment later, the place where they'd been exploded with Chaos Energy.

As they fell, Rouge spread her wings and slowed their fall. But just as she did, Mephiles fired another blast of Chaos Energy at them. Shadow drew Dark Burner, and activated its fiery blade. He then quickly deflected the blast back at Mephiles, who again deflected it back. But by this time, Rouge had moved them out of the way. The blast of Chaos Energy hit the ground, and the explosion knocked Mephiles, Shadow and Rouge into separate directions.

When Shadow got his bearings, he saw that he and Mephiles were on opposite sides of a crater. Shadow also noticed that he was right on top of Rouge. Luckily, Mephiles had taken a much rougher landing, and would take a few moments to get reoriented.

"You okay?" Shadow asked his wife, who nodded.

"I'm going to sleep well after this…" she muttered. But then to her surprise, Shadow pulled Rouge into a gentle, loving kiss, holding onto the back of her head. Rouge eagerly returned it, but again, Shadow broke it.

"Rouge… thank you" Shadow said softly. "Thank you for always being there for me. This isn't the first time you saved my neck."

Rouge smiled back. "Anytime, sugar" she replied. "Thank Shade, too; it was his idea."

"Rouge, listen to me" Shadow told her seriously. "I'm the only one strong enough to have a shot at destroying Mephiles. If he defeats me, Shade is your only hope."

"What?" Rouge asked in surprise. "Shadow, what…? No! I'm not letting you fight that fruitcake by yourself! That's why we came here!"

"Rouge, the only reason I haven't beaten him yet is because another Lost One sprung him out in time. I need you and everyone else to finish them off. Then you can help me" Shadow replied. "But if Mephiles kills me, he won't care how the rest of you are finished. Get Shade to try and Chaos Control you and everyone else out of here so you can continue the fight!"

"But Shadow, you can't expect me-" Rouge started to say, but Shadow practically shoved her away.

"Go!! NOW!!" Shadow shouted. Rouge turned back to face him, and turned around to see Shade crawling out of the crater he had dug to save himself. Then she faced Shadow again.

"I love you!!" Shadow shouted. "Now go!"

"I… I love you too!!" Rouge shouted back, and though it killed her, she ran up to Shade, and they proceeded to find the other Lost Ones.

Satisfied, but unhappily so, Shadow turned back to his arch-nemesis.

"It's you and me now, Mephiles" Shadow growled, drawing Dark Burner again.

"As it should be, Shadow" Mephiles replied, holding the Sword of Chaos at the ready.

"Even if you win here, there'll be other battles to fight, and you cannot win them all!" Shadow shouted, and slashed at his opponent, but Mephiles slithered out of the way, went behind Shadow, and threw him across the street.

Before Shadow had even gotten to his feet, Mephiles was again upon him. "You fight for the lost cause!! FOR WEAKLINGS!!" Mephiles roared. "AND THAT IS WHY YOU WILL FALL!!" and he blasted Shadow aside. The ebony hedgehog forced himself back onto his feet, and ran at the dark being, crying out; "FOR MARIA!!"

The battle was on.

*Central City: With Shade and Rouge*

The two Mobians quickly regrouped with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Silver, Blaze, Cream, and all the soldiers. Rouge told them what Shadow had told her, all the while hoping a Lost One would come and attack them now so she wouldn't have to travel any further from Shadow (who was still close enough to where they could all hear the sounds of battle).

"Alone? Is he crazy?!" Sonic asked. "We're right here! Why won't he let us help? Is he_ that_ full of himself?!"

"No! Like I've already said, he told me that we'd be more use finishing off the Lost Ones first!" Rouge replied angrily. "Don't dare insult him after he's put his life on the line so selflessly!"

"Okay, okay! Jeez, I was just kidding, Rouge!" Sonic said, holding his hands up defensively. "Don't get me wrong, Shadow's a hell of a guy, I'd just rather be fighting Mephiles than hunting down his cronies."

"You and I both, blue-hog" Rouge muttered. "Alright, where do we start our hunt?"

"We should split up, like we proposed earlier" the Black Arms Commander stated. "We're in an alley with two exits. I'll take sixty of my soldiers, twenty G.U.N. soldiers, Silver, Blaze, and Knuckles down south. Everyone else can head north."

"Sounds good…" Knuckles said. "Just one flaw in that plan: they've found us first."

Everyone turned to see that the red echidna was right: Sparxan landed right outside of the alley they were in. Everyone ducked down, some taking cover behind dumpsters and what not. But Sparxan seemed oblivious to them, only looking around warily. He slowly walked off, obviously not having seen his hidden enemies that were right under his nose.

As he passed, Rouge and a few soldiers poked their heads out, and they saw where Sparxan was headed.

The Lost One was slowly advancing on Shadow and Mephiles as they fiercely battled about a block and a half away from him. Sparxan chuckled darkly, drew his multi-whip weapon, and started to spin it around with incredible speed, and continued advancing on Shadow and Mephiles.

Rouge turned to the Black Arms commander. "How much longer until the planes get here?" she asked.

"In a matter of seconds" the Black Alien replied. "They know our location. The first wave, they told me, has already neutralized the blockade's anti-air defenses. The second wave will be upon the Lost Ones momentarily."

Rouge nodded, and accessed her comm.. "Zachary? This is Agent Rouge: we have friendly units entangled with the Lost Ones, we'll mark them for you, over?"

"_Copy that, Agent Rouge_" Zachary replied. "_I'm alerting my fighter-planes now." _

"Everyone ready?" Rouge asked. "All right, let's kill this bitch! Move!"

Suddenly, everybody poured out of the alley, moving as quietly as they could to cover, and aiming their guns on Sparxan. They knew if they alerted the Lost One too soon, he would likely fly off again before they could finish him.

When nobody was looking, Sonic suddenly pulled Knuckles aside. "Hey, Knux, you remember that one move we used against that big Metarex, a few years back? The whole arm-swing thing?" Sonic whispered. Knuckles nodded slowly, not yet understanding.

"Stand as close as you can to Sparxan without getting spotted" Sonic told him with a smile. "I'll be right back!" And with that, the blue hedgehog took off, leaving a befuddled Knuckles in his wake.

The Black Arms commander pulled out a high-tech targeting system, and locked it onto Sparxan and Mephiles, labeling Shadow as "vital friendly". Then he transmitted the targets to the fighter planes.

"Targets marked. What's your E.T.A.?" the Black Alien spoke softly into the comm..

"_Time on target: 25 seconds_" a voice replied from the comm., and soon enough, Rouge could faintly hear the roar of jet-engines from behind them.

Sonic, meanwhile, was nearly a mile away from them, but he had a clear path to the others, and he could even see the battle. He patted his foot impatiently, watching with a keen eye, and got ready to do what he did best: go fast.

"Fighter-planes, still in position…" the Black Arms commander whispered into the comm..

But suddenly, as Knuckles shifted a foot that had been asleep, his shoe crushed a piece of glass amongst other rubble.

"Oh shit" the echidna whispered.

With a snarl, Sparxan turned around, and prepared to slam his fist into the ground.

"Take cover!!" the Black Arms Commander shouted, and everybody dove out of the way as Sparxan unleashed a quake on them, sending geysers of fire blasting out of the ground, igniting a few soldiers.

"Fighters are incoming!!" the Black Arms commander shouted, firing over his shoulder at Sparxan as he ran for cover.

Sonic, meanwhile, was hauling ass right at Sparxan.

The jets screamed over the hedgehog, momentarily outrunning him to the Lost One. They fired a spray of missiles just as Sparxan was about to retreat. The Lost One deflected a couple with his whip weapon, but one hit him and forced him back on the ground.

"Knuckles, heads up!!" Sonic cried, reaching an incredible speed that left tracks on the road. Knuckles saw the blue hedgehog, and just barely grabbed Sonic's arm as the blue hedgehog passed. Then, using his incredible strength, Knuckles swung Sonic around and around, creating so much momentum that they drilled a circle into the ground. Finally, using his amazing strength, Knuckles hurled Sonic right at Sparxan, and with barely half a second to spare, Sonic rolled up into a ball…

And drilled right through Sparxan's torso.

"WHOO-HOO!!" Sonic cried, laughing in excitement as he flew through the air, and finally landing on the ground. He turned to look at Sparxan, who stumbled on his feet for a second, and glance down at his almost-completely gone body. Then, with a groan, he collapsed face-first, and exploded.

"ALRIGHT!!" Sonic shouted, and high-fived Knuckles, and then Tails. "World-class speed, baby! I wish NASCAR could've seen it!" Sonic's bragging was then cut off by a firm hug from Amy.

"C'mon, move!!" Rouge shouted. "We still have some enemies to take out! Move out!!"

Then, Rouge suddenly turned her gaze at the battle between Shadow and Mephiles…

Shadow was losing.

Mephiles just then threw Shadow down to the ground, and kicked the black hedgehog's torso to send him rolling away. Shadow struggled to his knees, and suddenly coughed up a bit of blood. But Mephiles didn't relent. He snarled, and ran forward, and kicked Shadow in the face.

"Shadow!!" Rouge cried out. "Hold on, I'm on the way!!" and she suddenly ran towards the battle, shouldering the G.U.N. weapon with artificial Chaos energy she'd picked up with her. Omega and Shade were right behind her.

Suddenly, a bright flash from outside the city confirmed that the fourth and fifth waves of fighters had began to inflict further damage on the monsters that had them all trapped inside the city, which meant the third and second waves of fighters were preparing to assault Mephiles himself.

"_Second wave and third wave are on approach_" a voice crackled over everybody's comm.. "_Shadow, recommend you get out of the way now!_"

"Copy that…" Shadow grunted, trying to push himself to his feet.

But just as the fighters were closing into position, a black blur screamed across the sky right towards the fighters.

"_What the hell is that thing?!_" one pilot shouted.

"BEGONE, FOOLS!!" Hades snarled. "YOU SHALL NOT TROUBLE MY MASTER!!" And with that, he landed on one plane, and stabbed both arm-blades into the engine, and then leapt into the sky, spraying several more fighters with missiles and blowing up more than four of them. Then, as he flew by another, he slashed the wings off, sending the plane careening out of control to crash into a skyscraper.

"_Wave three, burn that thing!" _the leader of the second wave shouted. A few fighters were able to fire, but only one missile hit Hades, knocking him off of them. It gave them time for the survivors of the second wave to get by him. Hades then flew after the others.

"_Wave three, stay on that guy! Don't let him get away!_" the flight-leader shouted into the comm.. "_Everyone else, form up on Mephiles!_"

"Take out the target!!" the Black Arms Commander shouted, and all the soldiers with him began to fire upon Mephiles.

The dark being was taken off guard, and he was forced to break away from Shadow, giving the ebony hedgehog time to get up and stumble away from his foe.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all ran in together. Knuckles picked Tails up by the feet, and threw him at Sonic, who had leapt into the air. Tails then kicked Sonic in his rolled-up form, sending him flying with great momentum at Mephiles. The blow knocked Mephiles down as Blaze fired a massive typhoon of flames at the dark being, which had been sealed together to create a greater impact by Silver's psychic force field. The explosion sent Mephiles flying to meet the mallet of Amy's hammer, which in turn knocked Mephiles into Omega's firing-range.

The Mobians then cleared out of the way just as the surviving planes from the second wave flew down and fired all they had at Mephiles. The dark being howled in pain as fire rained down all around him.

But still, he stood on feet. The dark being's green eyes now glowed red with unspeakable wrath, and he suddenly blasted two planes out of the sky with a blast from the Sword of Chaos.

"_DIE,_ YOU BASTARD!!!" Rouge screamed, firing non-stop at Mephiles, who was barely ten meters from her. The dark being literally roared, and ran at the ivory bat. But Shadow leapt out at Mephiles, and severed the dark being's right leg off with Dark Burner, sending Mephiles crashing to the ground.

Rouge now crawled away from Mephiles and towards Shadow, who barely had the strength to get to his knees. Mephiles clawed at Rouge, who was a bit frightened by the death she saw in the dark being's eyes.

"I WILL KILL YOU, KILL, _KILL!!_" Mephiles screamed. "YOUR BLOOD, SPILLING, SPILLING, POURING, _FOREVER!!_ MAY YOU BURN, SUFFER, WITHER AND WILT!!! _**DAMN YOU**_!! YOU SHALL ALL PERISH IN OCEANS OF BLOOD, BLADES, AND FIRE!!!!"

Shadow gritted his teeth in pain, and looked up at his wife. "Rouge!! Get out of here, _now!!_" he pleaded.

Rouge looked back at Shadow, and then back at Mephiles, who was glowing from the heat of the missiles that had hit him. Mephiles pushed himself up, and prepared to pounce at Rouge and kill her.

But it gave the ivory bat an idea…

Just as Mephiles leapt at her, Rouge cried out; "Shadow!! Head's up!!", and as Mephiles leapt, Rouge kicked the dark behind over her head…

And towards Shadow.

Moving quickly, Shadow held up Dark Burner's fiery blade, and impaled it on Mephiles' chest.

The dark being cried out a terrible, pained screech, but Shadow didn't relent. With a cry of "FUCK YOU!!!", Shadow drove Mephiles and Dark Burner's blade deep into the ground. A loud noise emanated from Mephiles' body as the flames slowly destroyed him.

Finally, Shadow drew the blade out of Mephiles' body, and just stood there. Mephiles rose for a second, but then fell to his knees, clutching feebly at the huge, burning hole in his chest. He gasped out, made an awful choking noise, and then collapsed. His body melted into a puddle of ooze, and ran through the numerous cracks in the ground to disappear.

The battle was over at last.

Shadow withdrew Dark Burner's fiery blade, sheathed it, and collapsed on the ground.

Rouge ran over to her husband, and held him to her heart.

"Oh God, Rouge… I love you…" Shadow murmured. "I love you… so much…"

Rouge chuckled, and was surprised to find tears of relief leaving clean streaks on her dirty face. "I love you too, big guy…" she said softly, and pressed her lips onto Shadow's. Shadow eagerly returned the kiss, putting a hand onto Rouge's neck and pulling himself deeper into the kiss.

Rouge recalled that this may have been the first time Shadow kissed her in full view of over a hundred people.

Sonic and Amy embraced each other just a few meters away from Shadow and Rouge. The blue hedgehog cupped Amy's face in his hands, and kissed his newly-wed wife on the lips. Even though Amy and Sonic had shared over a thousand of these kisses, Amy still cherished them more than anything, having finally found what she'd been after ever since Sonic and she had first met.

Silver and Blaze gripped each other's hands, and after a brief kiss, they pulled each other into a firm embrace.

"Love you, psychic-boy" Blaze teased. Silver chuckled at his lover.

"I love you too, hot-head" he teased back. Blaze smirked at him.

"'Hot head'? That's the best you have?" Blaze said with a roll of the eyes. Silver just beamed at her, and kissed her again. Blaze happily accepted it.

Knuckles smirked at everybody, feeling quite proud of himself for having taken part in this. He glanced over at Tails and Cream.

"So, Knuckles…" Tails said, "What're you and Tikal going to do when we get back?"

"Me? I'm taking a shower, and going straight to bed after we smother each other in kisses" Knuckles replied practically. "Damn, I miss her. Hopefully, with Mephiles dead at last, they'll let me and her go back to Angel Island with the Master Emerald."

"Sounds good, buddy" Tails said with a bright smile.

"As soon as I get home, I'm taking a nap" Cream put in. "I hope mother won't mind me skipping a bath before I do that."

Meanwhile, Shadow finally recovered the strength to stand up and walk with Rouge away from the damage the plane-missiles had caused. When Shadow looked up at all the soldiers who had come to aid in this battle, he saw something that made him stop and blink.

Over two hundred G.U.N. troops and Black Arms soldiers were saluting him.

Rouge smirked, and nudged Shadow in the ribs. "All Hail Shadow!" she teased.


	21. The Deepest Darkness

**Chapter Twenty: The Deepest Darkness**

Everybody was gathered in the park in Central City that wasn't far from the front of the President's house, which was barely within bounds for people to walk.

Shadow and Rouge had dated there about eleven months after they'd first admitted their love for each other. Sonic and Amy and Silver and Blaze had done so a few times as well.

The park wasn't too badly damaged, all things considered. The smog from the battle would have bad repercussions for some of the trees, and about eleven square meters of grass had been burned and singed, but the rest of the park was completely unscathed.

The reason they were all there was because it provided a good landing zone for the helicopters that would be picking them up shortly. Rouge was on the comm. With Vice-Admiral Zachary at the moment.

"Yes sir, we're at the pickup zone now" Rouge said. "Oh, and sir? Make sure that they have a huge, hot pizza with our names on it for when we get back.

The young naval officer chuckled. "_Very well, Agent Rouge. You all earned it, and much, much more. A welcoming party is being planned for you right now. See you soon. Zachary out._"

"Sweet!! A party? Damn, can this day get any better?!" Sonic chortled. "Of course, after that, Amy and I need to head back to Mobius to help them out with their teleportation device so they can get their army here. But still, I need to blow off some steam!"

"I'll second that!" Tails chuckled, and high-fived Sonic.

Shadow, meanwhile, noticed that the only one in the group that looked somber was Shade the Echidna. The black-and-crimson echidna was looking around warily, as if afraid they might be attacked again soon.

"You alright, Shade?" Shadow asked, somewhat annoyed that Shade's demeanor was dampening his own elevation.

"We must leave; it shall be dark soon" Shade said, turning so everybody could hear him.

"Yeah? So?" Sonic asked. "I'm not afraid of the dark!" Shade sneered at the blue hedgehog, who ignored it; he got looks like that and worse from Shadow.

"Mephiles' army still lives, and now that he's dead, they will hunt us down with extreme prejudice!" Shade said severely. "Rouge, are the copters almost here?"

"Yep! They'll be here in about a minute" Rouge replied cheerfully, giving Shadow a playful slap to the back, saying; "You done good, hedgehog. That'll do."

Shadow just smirked and ruffled Rouge's big ears.

"Helicopters?" Blaze said, breaking away from the conversation she'd been having with Silver. "Ugh… why copters? I hate heights, and I puke my guts out on those things every time."

"I guess you're sitting next to Knuckles then" Amy said with a chuckle. The red echidna sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Why can't Shadow or somebody just Chaos Control us out of here?" Blaze said exasperatedly. "How hard would that be?"

"One, I've never been to or even seen Guardkaku; I wouldn't know where to go, even if I had the coordinates" Shadow answered. "And two, I would be pretty worn out transporting over two hundred soldiers halfway across the continent."

"Fine, fine, just get a bag ready" Blaze growled.

"Ah Blaze, just close your eyes and you'll be alright" Silver said with a smile, grabbing Blaze's hand. "I'll help ease your stomach, okay?"

Blaze smiled back at him, albeit a bit uncomfortably.

Suddenly, Shadow felt a cold breeze blow past them, and it sent a shiver down his spine…

The ebony hedgehog looked around him, and he suddenly felt the same discomfort that Shade had a moment ago…

Something bad was about to happen.

"Look! You can see the copters from here!" Tails suddenly shouted. "We're going home!"

Shade looked at the copters, and then at the sun, which would setting in about an hour.

"Please tell me that Guardkaku is to the west so we can maximize sunlight" he muttered darkly.

"IF NOT, I CAN LIGHT SOME OF OUR ENEMIES AFLAME AND USE THEM AS CANDLES" Omega said helpfully, holding up his reattached arm.

*Southern border of Central City*

The Lost One Hades directed the rest of the orders to the platoon of monsters before him, ordering them to regroup with the rest of the survivors of the blockade, and to rendezvous at the park in front of the President's house. Then, Hades took off into the sky.

The second-in-command of the Lost Ones was furious. Most of his brethren dead, his master destroyed, and they'd suffered serious losses to the blockade's numbers while their enemy suffered no more than maybe a hundred casualties to their infantry.

It was _insulting._

So, Hades flew down to the area where Mephiles had fallen to see that the Sword of Chaos still laid there.

Then, the Lost One started to wait.

*Central City Park: One minute later*

By this time, everybody was eagerly watching the helicopters as they slowly approached. The flying vehicles were roughly five minutes away from landing to pick them up. There was about fifty copters, most of which were modified to hold more people than standard ones. They were being escorted by a few dozen Black Hawks as well, which would carry the Black Arms officers.

Yet even though they were almost out of there, Shadow still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had, and neither could Shade.

"_Agent Shadow, Agent Rouge? This is Zachary, I'm on board_" Rouge's comm. crackled. "_Since all these heavy-armed copters qualified as a guard, the Commander let me come to congratulate you personally._"

"Thank you sir" Rouge said with a grin. "Sure you didn't come just to see my shining smile?" she added, knowing it'd annoy Shadow (who wasn't really paying attention).

Zachary just chuckled. "_Sure, why not?_" he replied. "_All right, make some room, we're-_"

But just as the helicopters began their final approach, a black figure screamed across the sky, and blasted right through the copter Vice-Admiral Zachary had been in. Then it turned and fired a missile, blowing down another copter.

"Hades!!" Shade snarled.

"_L.Z.'s hot!! Look out!!!_" a pilot screamed just as one of the downed copters crashed into him, causing him to crash and explode upon the ground. Most of the other copters pulled up away from the explosions, including the bigger ones made for holding more people.

Shadow, Rouge, Shade, Sonic, and everybody else scattered out of the way of the crashing helicopters. Blaze, unfortunately, was cut off from the other Mobians as she dove to the left of the copters.

The copters pulled up and readied their weapons in case Hades came back. But then the problem got even worse.

Hundreds of Mephiles' monsters began to swarm towards the G.U.N., Black Arms, and Mobian forces.

"Take cover!!" the Black Arms commander shouted, firing at the advancing monsters. The dark-violet and black monsters roared a terrible battle cry, and began to return fire.

The enemy blade-projectiles tore through the humans and aliens alike, either killing them instantly, or when they exploded in their chests.

The Black Arms commander gunned down a few dozen of the monsters himself, and dragged a wounded elite who had its entire calf blown apart behind some rubble, reloaded, and tossed an energy-grenade at the enemies. Then he accessed his comm..

"Black Fist, sir, we need _serious_ assistance!!" the commander shouted. "The human Vice-Admiral Zachary has been killed, and close to a quarter of our evacuation ships are downed! We need reinforcements and additional pick-up!!"

There was silence on the comm., and then Black Fist replied; "_Confirmed, commander. We are sending aid now. Standby, just hold on awhile._"

"Yes sir!" the commander replied, and then rose over the rubble, and continued to fire.

They were all now completely surrounded. Blaze, and more than two dozen G.U.N. soldiers and Black Arms were protected on three sides by rubble and a huge, fallen tree. The warrior cat was blasting fireballs practically non-stop at the advancing enemy, halting them and inspiring the troops with her.

Shadow, Rouge, and the others had managed to find good cover as well as the troops that were with them. Shadow, Shade, Knuckles, Rouge, Sonic and Amy were engaged in close-combat, wreaking havoc on the enemy's numbers. But more and more monsters seemed to come out of nowhere. And they were still quite tired from the battle with the Lost Ones.

Shadow was impressed by Shade's skills, slashing and hacking through the monsters, using many of the same maneuvers and techniques that Shadow himself used. The echidna and hedgehog found themselves watching each others' backs from the monsters, blowing them apart with Chaos Spears and Chaos Lances.

Shadow reminded himself of how many times he and Shade had fought each other before, and took comfort from knowing that such a deadly warrior was now on his side.

Rouge tore through a dozen monsters of large size with her deadly Tornado Kick, and was then surrounded by about twenty more monsters. She roundhouse-kicked them all aside, leapt in the air, and tossed a bomb down in her wake, blowing up eight more monsters.

Sonic, Knuckles and Amy were all back-to-back in a sort of triangle, fighting through the monsters with Tails keeping them covered from a distance with his newly-modified blaster. Between Sonic's lightning-quick attacks, Knuckles' endurance, and Amy's steel-hard devotion (and mallet), they were impossible to overwhelm.

Cream and Cheese, meanwhile, couldn't do much. So the young rabbit just stayed under cover close to Tails, holding her Chao protectively.

Silver was picking up monsters, and hurling them into their comrades. He would also freeze enemy projectiles before they could hit his comrades, and hurl them back to kill over a dozen monsters at a time.

But the monsters kept coming, thousands upon tens of thousands.

"These must be survivors of the blockade that regrouped with an additional force from outside the city…" the Black Arms commander muttered while reloading his rifle. "That means Mephiles _had_ a backup plan in case things went wrong. Blast it!!" With a growl of frustration, the Black Alien leader picked up a sword from one of his fallen soldiers, and hurled it as hard as he could. The blade skewered itself into the head of a monster two and a half meters tall, and it collapsed and killed two more of its smaller brethren.

Silver glanced over at Blaze, who had now engaged the monsters in melee combat. She was passionately laying waste to dozens of them, punching them with fire-lit hands, setting several aflame at a time. She spun around in a fiery dance of death, showing no more remorse to her enemies than they deserved.

Blaze's passion reminded Silver of the extent of the love they felt for each other.

The choppers flew back, and began a strafing run on the enemy ground forces. A few monsters got a lucky shot, killing one gunner and one pilot on two different copters. But the downed helicopter crashed into their ranks, killing a few more monsters.

For a moment, it looked like they'd be able to turn this disaster around, and go home.

But things usually get worse before they get better.

In this case, it became _much_ worse.

Hades returned, and fired another burst of missiles. He downed two more choppers, but the Black Arms, the choppers', and G.U.N.'s combined fire drove him off.

But Hades wasn't the real problem.

Before the choppers could get even one more shot in, hundreds of Chaos Spears blasted from multiple directions, engulfing them all in flame and ripping explosions through them all. They almost crashed into the ground, but an unseen force hefted it up, and hurled it towards an area that protected about fifty G.U.N. and Black Arms soldiers, killing them all.

"What in blazes…?!" the Black Arms commander breathed, gripping his rifle tightly. "Everyone, look alive!! We got a new threat inbound!! Repeat, a new threat!" Then the Black Arms leader went back to firing at his enemies alongside his comrades…

Only, he noticed nothing was firing _at _him or _with him _either.

He turned and saw Mephiles the Dark standing only a few feet away from him, holding the Sword of Chaos.

"Surprised? Don't be" the dark being said calmly, and ran the sword's entire length into the Black Alien's torso.

"I cannot be killed" Mephiles went on as if he and the Black Arms leader were having an idle conversation. "It's simple, really. Every time I'm destroyed, I rise again later. If I'm assisted in returning, it can be as little as a month or two. If I'm own my own, it could over a year. In this case, I had absorbed enough Chaos Energy to bring myself back together in just under an hour." That said, Mephiles drew the Sword of Chaos out of the Black Alien's body, and kicked him to the ground. The Black Arms commander gasped, and then passed away.

Shadow glanced over, and saw what just happened. His eyes widened at the sight of Mephiles. But then the black hedgehog gritted his teeth, and with a ferocious yell, he blasted a huge Chaos Lance from the tip of Dark Burner, burning over a hundred enemy monsters at once.

"God _damn it!!"_ Shadow growled to himself. "Will that fucking bastard ever _die_?!"

"So long as we don't die fist, he will!" Shade replied, severing a monster's leg off and then stabbing it before it could fall.

Now that all of the high-ranking commanding officers were dead, Shadow and Rouge now had tactical command of the forces stationed there, as they were commanding agents in G.U.N. Rouge accessed her comm. and called all G.U.N. soldiers while Omega, Shade, and Shadow covered her.

"All soldiers, fall back to the President's house!!" she yelled over the noise of the battle. "Repeat, fall back to the President's house, it's not far!! The walls are reinforced for attack, we'll be safe in there!!"

So, everybody began to move as quickly as they could find cover towards the President's house. Luckily, rubble from the crashed helicopters had spread all the way to the steps that led to the President's house's doors. About twenty G.U.N. soldiers and Black Aliens reached the house, opened the heavy doors (reinforced with hidden concrete and two inches of titanium), and headed in. They kept the doors open for everybody else.

Blaze, meanwhile, lagged behind but was making progress with the eleven or so soldiers she still had helping her. Blaze burned her way through the enemy soldiers easily, and as her back was being watched by the best G.U.N. and the Black Arms had to offer, she was practically invincible.

Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Tails, Cream, and the eighteen soldiers that kept them covered had established a position at the foot of the steps that led into the President's house. They covered a few stragglers as they made a run for the house, but a couple still got shot down.

Silver, meanwhile, was carrying ammo, a few wounded soldiers, and rubble (to shield the wounded) with his psychic powers. He turned to see Blaze slowly making her way to the stairs, and feeling like she could handle herself, he handed off some ammo and one of the wounded to the soldiers guarding the steps, allowing him to recharge his psychic powers a bit. Silver was about to go and help Blaze, but several hound-like monsters leapt at him, and he was forced to fight them off.

Blaze, meanwhile, continued fighting valiantly, feeling a bit elevated that they were close to safety. The soldiers with her fought harder than they ever had before, seeing her courage and valor.

Blaze was unaware that Mephiles was slowly walking towards her.

The dark being gestured to his soldiers to press their attack on Sonic and his soldiers, and then turned to face Blaze and her soldiers.

"We have suffered losses, today" Mephiles said, and now Blaze and her soldiers were completely focused on him. "But we can recover. The loss of my brethren is merely another necessary sacrifice for my final victory."

The Black Arms and G.U.N. soldiers fired practically point-blank at Mephiles, but it had almost no effect. The dark being slashed widely, cutting seven soldiers clean in half and sending the other four flying into rubble so hard it shattered their spines.

"My strategy remains the same" Mephiles stated, and punched Blaze across the face, sending blood flying from her mouth and nose. Blaze stumbled backwards, but still stood.

"A snake's body contains vital organs, surely, but the head provides the defenses and tactics that protect and keep the body organized" Mephiles went on, and suddenly seized Blaze by the throat. The Mobian cat tried to summon her fire powers, but they seemed frozen inside her.

"If you cut off the head of the snake – or in this case, the armies that protect your civilians -…" Mephiles said, raising the Sword of Chaos.

"The body dies."

And he heaved the Sword's entire blade into Blaze's stomach.

Blaze's eyes widened in shock and pain, locked onto Mephiles' demonic, green eyes.

"I _shall _win this war" Mephiles continued, as Blaze's eyes started to droop. "It's only a matter of time." And with that, he withdrew the Havoc Blade, and threw Blaze to the ground, and walked away.

Silver had only noticed this after he defeated the monsters attacking him, and by then, Mephiles had already withdrawn the blade.

His golden eyes widened, and he was frozen in shock.

Silver watched as Blaze's body slowly hit the ground, and the world seemed to slow down around him.

Tears came to Silver's eyes, but he didn't notice them. Shadow and Shade (who had just reached Sonic's position) noticed his state, not yet understanding why.

Suddenly, with a cry, Silver ran into the army of monsters.

The slashed at him, but the psychic hedgehog didn't care; he smashed them with his bare fists, sending them flying to the ground dead in his fury. Whenever a punch landed, a monster died. He smashed them aside, crying out as if he'd gone mad, killing anything in front of him. A giant monster stood in his way, but Silver just leapt upon it, dragged it down, and beat its face to a pulp until it moved no longer.

Then, he stumbled, and fell onto his knees in front of Blaze's body.

Silver's eyes again shimmered with tears, and a single sob tore through his throat, and he feebly reached out for Blaze.

Then, with a scream, he tried to leap back at Mephiles' forces. But Shadow and Shade seized his arms, and dragged him off while Omega recovered Blaze's body. They quickly ran back to the others' position, despite Silver's maddened attempts to get back into the fight.

"Door's open, hurry up!!" a Black Arms elite cried from the bottom stair at the President's house.

Then, Shadow, Shade, Omega, Rouge, Silver, and the last couple of soldiers entered the house, and slammed the doors shut, barring them and code-locking them.

They all caught their breath, and began to treat the wounded they had with them. But aside from some panting, the room was quiet. Most of the Mobians were staring in shock at what Omega had just gently put on the floor.

Everyone paid a silent respect to Blaze, whom Silver was now clinging to and sobbing. Most soldiers removed their helmets and hats at the sight.

Shadow sheathed Dark Burner, stared a moment more in disbelief, and then crisply saluted, which Shade, Rouge, Sonic, Knuckles, and Omega mirrored.

"This can't be happening…" Amy whimpered, and suddenly buried her face into Sonic's chest and cried as sobs wracked her body. Sonic gently embraced her, numb with shock himself as a single tear ran down his dirty face.

Knuckles collapsed on the floor, rubbing his forehead with his hands, feeling more tired than he had in a long time. Tails and Cream held each other as they cried as well.

"Everybody…" Shade said gently. "We're in serious trouble. We need to get out of here."


End file.
